One of the things I've really learned moving 700 miles away from everyone I know is the value of friendship. After graduation, making friends in the real world is more difficult that getting a job in this economy. How do you make friends when you aren't in classes with them? Do you really want to be friends with coworkers outside of work? Is there a line you shouldn't cross? I don't know. The majority of my friends are coworkers. We spend at least 40 hours a week together and we've seen each other in very stressful times. We've seen each other at our peaks and our lows, how could we not become friends. We rely a lot on each other in the office so it makes sense that we share parts of our lives with one another.
There's also another group of my friends who I met through the Penn State Alums in Chicago. They're great. Other than the small talk of "how's work going" it's nice to sometimes not talk about work. We've also seen each other in good times and bad, whether it's mourning the loss of one of our role models or celebrating a football victory. A lot of us also grew up within 30 minutes of each other so we reminisce about back home.
