You came to NWU to get a degree. You probably didn't expect to leave with a group chat, inside jokes, emergency snack suppliers and people who somehow know when you're having a bad day before you've even said anything.

When you first arrive at NWU, making friends can feel a little strange. You're finding your way around campus, figuring out your timetable, trying to remember which lecture venue you're supposed to be in and quietly hoping you don't look as lost as you feel. Some people arrive already knowing someone; others are starting completely from scratch. Then someone turns to you and asks the most important question of your first semester: “Are you also in this class?”

And just like that, it begins. At first, you're simply strangers; then you start sitting together; then someone creates a WhatsApp group; then you're sharing notes; and then you're getting something to eat between lectures. And somewhere between crossing campus, rushing to your next class, sitting outside after a long day and figuring out university life together, these people slowly become part of your everyday routine.

Before you know it, your NWU friends have become the people you call when you need help, a laugh, advice, food or simply someone who understands exactly what you're going through.

It starts with the small things

University friendships don't always begin with some dramatic “we instantly knew we'd be best friends” moment. Sometimes it's much simpler.

You sit next to someone in a lecture because the other seats are full. You ask for a pen. Someone explains something you didn't understand. You discover you both have a gap between lectures. Someone says, “Let's go get something to eat.” And then you do it again the next day. And the next. Eventually, sitting together doesn't feel like a decision anymore; it’s just where you sit.

The same goes for those walks across campus. At first, you're simply trying to get from one lecture to the next. A few weeks later, that walk has become catch-up time. You know who you're likely to bump into. You know where everyone usually meets. You know which friend is always running late. Campus starts to feel a little less like a place you're trying to figure out and a little more like somewhere you belong.

Then come the group chats

Every university friendship eventually finds its way onto WhatsApp. At first, it's practical. “What page are we on?” “Is the test tomorrow?” “Did the lecturer say we have to submit today?” Then it evolves. Memes, random videos, inside jokes, someone asking where everyone is, someone disappearing for three days and returning with absolutely no explanation, or someone sending a voice note that is somehow six minutes long. And suddenly, leaving the group is no longer an option. You've been here too long. The group chat becomes its own little extension of campus life, carrying everything from lecture updates to plans for lunch to the occasional “Guys, I am not coping” message. And there is almost always someone online.

They become your academic support system

There is a special kind of friendship that comes from surviving university together. You know the feeling. It's 10 pm. The assignment is due tomorrow. Nobody is entirely sure what the question is asking.

Someone sends: “Guys. We need to talk.” And just like that, everyone is online. You compare notes. Explain concepts to each other. Share resources. Remind one another about deadlines.

Someone says, “Don't stress, we'll figure it out.” And somehow, you do.

You celebrate the good marks together and commiserate over the ones that didn't go quite as planned. Because sometimes the difference between “I cannot do this” and “Okay, let's try again” is simply having someone beside you who says, “Come, let's do it together.”

They see every version of you

Your university friends might see a version of you that nobody else does.

They see you when you're excited about a good mark,  you're stressed about an upcoming test, running across campus because you left your room five minutes too late,  when you've had enough of group assignments,  you're missing home, when you're celebrating, not quite yourself, and sometimes, they don't need you to explain. They just know.

They become your unofficial emergency department

Need notes? Ask the group chat.

Forgot your charger? Someone has one.

Missed a lecture? Someone sends you the important bits.

Hungry? Someone probably has snacks.

Lost? Someone knows where you're supposed to be.

Having a bad day? Someone is already sending a meme.

Need someone to celebrate with? They're there.

NWU friendships develop a very specific skill: being there for each other in the most random ways.

Sometimes support looks like helping you prepare for a test, or buying you something to eat because you forgot lunch, sitting outside with you after a long day,  walking with you to your next lecture, and sometimes it looks like sending the exact meme you needed at exactly the right time.

You came for the degree. You found your people too.

University is obviously about learning, growing and preparing for whatever comes next. But it's also about the people you meet along the way. The friend who helped you find your first lecture venue. The classmate who became your study partner. The person who became your lunch buddy. The friend who knows exactly when you need encouragement. The group chat that somehow survived every semester. The people who watched you grow from a nervous first-year into the person you're becoming. You might arrive at NWU thinking you're here to earn a qualification. And you are!

But somewhere between the lectures, campus walks, lunch breaks, deadlines, residence life, spontaneous plans and countless conversations, you might find something you didn't know you needed: your people.

And maybe that's one of the best surprises university has to offer. Because one day, when you look back at your time at NWU, you might not remember every lecture or every deadline. But you'll probably remember who was sitting next to you.