One of the greatest advantages of being part of any student organization as a freshman is that it becomes much easier to create meaningful friendships with students who are older than you. Indeed, in my one short semester here, I’ve found mentors and role models in the upperclassmen I’ve met in my fraternity, in the various clubs I’ve joined and here at the Daily Trojan.

I have also already experienced what it’s like to see one of those friends move on to a new chapter in their life — and, consequently, move out of yours.

Each time this somber phenomenon occurs, a bittersweet “ceremony” of sorts always kicks off. After all, when you know it’s your last time seeing your friend — at least for a long while — you’re going to want to celebrate, reminisce and say your proper goodbyes.

These experiences laid the foundation for a rather stark winter break epiphany. As I reconnected with many of my close friends from high school over one of the best winter breaks of my life, I couldn’t help but think about how in the coming summers, winters and springs, each of us will come home less and less.

I know this because already, I’ve been salivating at the idea of interning for NBC in 30 Rock or studying abroad in Japan. I have planned — and canceled — spring break trips with friends I’ve met at USC, and I’m sure that my friends from home have been growing as well. 

Moreover, in less than four years, all of us will move to different cities across the world, have full-time jobs, and, before we know it, families of our own.

A 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics study puts it plainly: By the time you’re 25, you’re spending half the amount of time with friends as you were in your teens and early 20s. By the time you’re 30, that number drops off a cliff and only gets lower.

If you take a moment to really think about it, how much time do you really have left with some of your friends? 

In the summer, I’m working internships and service jobs to save money for the school year. Outside of professional commitments, the summer is also my biggest opportunity to travel.

I have three winter breaks left in my college career, and I don’t even know if all of those will be spent at home. Even during the break I just had, there were close friends of mine who I only saw two or three times due to school schedules, work or travel plans.

As I continued to formulate these thoughts over the holidays, I found myself actually doing the math. 

If I saw a good friend of mine two or three times over this most recent break, a fair estimate will have me seeing him seven times over the next three winters. This will likely be the last summer I spend at home, so even if I see him six times in this one summer alone, I might really only see him 13 more times before we graduate from college. 

After that, barring the occasional wedding, who knows how many times I will see him again? I truly might see these friends, whom I saw hundreds of times throughout my formative years in K-12 schooling, fewer than 20 more times in my life.

The scary thing is, there will be no paragraph text in the fraternity group chat like there is when the seniors graduate. We won’t have one last dinner and the bashful “see you, bro” hug before someone leaves to go abroad. That last time will just happen, and be gone before we notice it.

My editors at DT have always had to nag me on having strong call-to-actions at the end of my articles. This is the first time I’m happy to write one. 

College — USC in particular — is a magical place. One where you’re constantly meeting new people, but also one where you’re constantly losing the people you have. For me, doing the math on the time I have left with my friends has only convinced me that it is not the numbers that matter. 

Whether you’re hanging out with your childhood best friend in your hometown, your senior mentor weeks before graduation, or your roommate who you will spend every day of the next four years with, our time with everyone is limited. 

Be grateful to have it, and spend it well.