By DAISY MOON / Staff Writer

As an 18-year-old freshman, I doubted that I would even make one good friend when I came to the University of Montevallo.

I was right. I didn’t make one good friend; I made an entire group of them.

Although I decided not to join a sorority, I was still blessed with a circle of sisters.

We are a group of girls who come from different backgrounds and share different interests. Yet, we came together almost four years ago to form the strongest bond of friendship any of us had ever experienced.

Over the years, they have been my closest confidants with whom I could share my deepest secrets.

From our dancing in Birmingham to our late night talks in the dorms to our plan to quit school and become pirates – our time together has been unforgettable.

We’ve engaged in our fair share of mindless boy talk and future wedding plans. We’ve laughed, cried and even took a few serious moments to study together.

Every night at the exact same time, our little group meets in the cafeteria where we dish on the day’s events, difficult classmates, annoying loads of homework and that group of baseball players across the room. It has become the part of the day I cherish most.

Our group of naive 18 year olds has suddenly transformed into a group of (dare I say it?) sophisticated young women.

Although we expanded to include a couple of younger members, the majority of us are getting ready to graduate.

The innocence of girlhood has come to a close as we hunt for “big girl” jobs and fret over acceptance to graduate schools.

We will no longer live in our dorm rooms, and our late nights of gossip and laughter will be no more.

Only recently have I realized that I am about to leave these girls forever. I am sure we will visit over the years, but not nearly as often as we would like.

When I left my high school friends, I was sure I would never make good friends again. Of course, I proved myself wrong.

Montevallo gave me the best group of girlfriends a person could ask for.

And now, before I embark on my quest through adulthood, I wonder if I will find such wonderful friends again. This time, I have a strong feeling the answer is no