Milestones didn’t feel like isolated events, they became shared experiences.
University has taught me that female friendships have a unique ability to soften life’s turning points. These girls were there for the big moments, moving across an ocean from my family and friends, choosing a course that terrified me, falling apart over exams, but also for the quieter, equally important milestones, my first proper heartbreak, the first time I realised my mental health needed attention, the first time I genuinely wondered if I was capable of doing any of this. Their presence turned each milestone from something daunting into something survivable.
We didn’t just live together; we grew up together.
Living together intensified this. Milestones didn’t feel like isolated events, they became shared experiences. When one person succeeded, we all celebrated. When someone stumbled, we all gathered on sofas, in kitchens, in bedrooms with the fairy lights switched on, to piece each other back together. Those nights of collective pep talks and unfiltered honesty became just as meaningful as the milestone moments themselves. And now, as we face graduation, a milestone that feels bigger and heavier because it marks the end of an era, I’m reminded once again of how much these friendships have carried us. We’ve grown through the same seasons, the same deadlines, the same emotional struggles. We didn’t just live together; we grew up together.
Female friendships don’t erase the challenges, but they make every milestone feel less intimidating and more worth celebrating. They’re the people who show up with flowers when you get good news and chocolate when you don’t. They turn life’s transitions into collective triumphs.
As we prepare to scatter into jobs, cities, and futures that don’t yet exist, one thing feels certain, the milestones ahead won’t feel nearly as scary knowing I’ve already weathered the biggest ones with the strongest group of women by my side.