When I came to Medill cherubs, I was on a mission: I needed to make as many friends as possible within the first week. And they couldn’t just be any friends. They needed to be the kind that wouldn’t abandon me for cooler people because I had to miss the first weekend of the program.

My cousin was getting married in Minneapolis. He and I weren’t very close, but because he asked me to sing in the wedding, I could not miss it. I was going to miss the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the cherubs program when friends would have free time to shop and go to the movies.

Friday morning I left class early to meet my aunt who picked me up from Northwestern and took me to the airport. The wedding went smoothly, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to return to the crazy workload that I knew awaited me back at cherubs.

I am so glad I came back. My welcome home was warm. I heard a lot of “I missed you” and “How was the wedding?”

My friends from the first week had made new friends while I was gone. But over the past five weeks, we have all grown to be best friends. I have already planned trips to Phoenix, St. Louis, San Francisco and Los Angeles to visit them. Missing the first weekend was a worry that I was happy to abandon.