As an incoming freshman to the University, I feared getting lost in such a large school. The campus was huge; there are so many buildings that look so similar and there are over 40,000 students here. It seemed like getting lost would be easy.

During my tours of the campus, the guides used terms I was unfamiliar with, like UGL, ARC and CRCE. I feared that I would get to this school and never learn about the basics of our campus. I felt like my ignorance about such basic landmarks would isolate me from my peers.

Many of my friends made the choice to go to small schools. I opted with a larger university because I thought it would give me better opportunities to meet different kinds of people. Within the first few weeks of college, I talked to several high school friends who were miserable at their small schools, mostly because the students were all relatively similar, and my friends didn’t fit in. Even though I was at a larger school, I was afraid the same thing could happen to me.

But because of our school’s culture, I found that it is hard to be isolated from other students. Freshman year, I took a Champaign-Urbana MTD bus on which everyone was chanting. As people got on the bus, everyone chanted, “Welcome to the bus! Welcome to the bus!” and as students tried to get off the bus, everyone chanted, “Let them off the bus! Let them off the bus!” The bus’ next stop was the Undergraduate Library, and everyone chanted, “UGL! UGL! UGL!” Although the bus driver looked unamused, everyone on the bus was having a great time. We didn’t know a thing about each other, but we all felt like we had so much in common.

Certain divisive campus issues, like the controversy surrounding the Chief, are prevalent in conversations, but don’t seem to affect the way we treat each other. It was a Friday afternoon sophomore year. I had a really rough week and just wanted to stress eat. I knew I was running low on credits for the dining hall, so I added some to my account before buying food. When the cashier scanned my card, the credits had not yet transferred. I was about to grudgingly put the food back, but the girl behind me in line paid for my food. I didn’t know her, she didn’t ask me to pay her back and she didn’t ask anything else of me. Experiencing a random act of kindness taught me that although students here may be divided on many issues, they still can be fundamentally good people.

Part of the reason I haven’t felt lost at the University also has to do with my friends. I have lived with my friend Melanie since freshman year. We get along very well and have excessive amounts of fun together. We have “Law and Order: SVU” marathons, throw dinner parties together and encourage each other’s wasteful shopping habits. I know many people have roommate troubles, but I’m lucky to say my roommate is one of my best friends.

I met one of my closest friends freshman year. Melanie and I were eating lunch in the dining hall, and two random girls, Stephanie and Emilie, asked if they could sit with us. We ate lunch together and decided to hang out again later that day. About a week after meeting each other, Emilie asked us if we thought we would be friends forever. At the time we made fun of her for asking this question so prematurely (Actually, we still make fun of her for this). But she was on to something — three years later, we are all still friends.

During the first month of our friendship, Stephanie and I somehow ended up discussing our mutual love of the show “Scrubs.” We then spontaneously burst into our own rendition of “Guy Love,” and we knew we would be good friends for a long time. It seems insane that in a school of over 40,000, I was able to find someone who is identical to me in almost every possible way.

I leave the University with fond memories and amazing friends. To those who aren’t graduating this year, I encourage you to treasure your friends, meet new people and enjoy being part of a tight-knit community that most people will never have the chance to experience.

Safia is a senior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected].