Many upperclassmen will say that friends made during welcome week are not real friends. However, my story goes quite differently.

I spent my freshman year in the iconic Third North Residence Hall. On the first night, my RA told me to go to the courtyard for an icebreaker of sorts. At first, I moaned as I knew how awkward events like that could be. Nevertheless, my RA convinced me to go after promising there would be free snowcones.

When I arrived in the courtyard, it was just as uncomfortable as I imagined. People were wandering around in circles avoiding conversation while Taio Cruz and Pitbull unfortunately played in the background. I put my head down and made my way to the snowcone booth.

After enjoying my mediocre snowcone, I heard a girl scream, “Hey!” A bit startled, I turned around to see a group of three girls standing together and looking at me. I walked over to them, and we began talking. In fact, we ended up hanging out for the rest of the night.

Those three girls are named Molly, Jemima and Arushi, and they are now three of my best friends at NYU. When asked about the strange circumstances under which we met, Molly now says she called me over because, “You looked nice and fun.” I think I just looked lonely.

A version of this article appeared in the Sunday, Aug. 27 print edition. Email Andrew Heying at [email protected].