How I Found My People: Unexpected University Friendships That Lasted a Lifetime

If you had told me before university that some of my closest friendships would spark from the most random encounters, I would have laughed and told you to be serious. Because let’s be real—everyone has a game plan for making friends at the university. As John Lennon once said, "Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. "The same goes for friendships—you never know when or how the most meaningful ones will form.

Some expect to instantly click with their roommates, others hope to form an unbreakable bond with their course mates, and then there’s the fantasy of finding the one—your best friend for life. But spoiler alert: university friendships don’t always unfold the way you expect.

Friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest, it’s about who walked into your life and said, ‘I’m here for you,’ and proved it.

 

The first few weeks on campus felt like a chaotic social experiment. Everywhere I turned, people introduced themselves, formed cliques at lightning speed, and exchanged numbers like at a networking event. It was overwhelming. One minute, someone was swearing they knew me from somewhere, and the next, someone else was trying to guess my secondary school, as if we all attended the same three schools in the country. Lol.

Making friends in university can feel like speed dating—except instead of finding a soulmate, you’re just hoping to find someone who will save you a seat in class. But somewhere amidst the whirlwind of 7 AM lectures, assignments, lecturers who ghosted us, and survival-mode budgeting, I found my people.

 

And here’s how it all happened...

 

The Accidental Seatmate Who Became My First Close Friend

Gee—one of the boldest humans I’ve ever met. We first crossed paths at a tutorial, where she confidently sat beside me and, within minutes, asked to be my roommate. Of course, I declined—first, because I didn’t want a roommate, and second, because I had just met her! But Gee was unfazed. She looked me dead in the eyes and said, “You’re so calm, I like your vibe. We click.”

And just like that, Gee decided we were friends. That day, we kept talking, and before I knew it, I had found my first real friend in university.

 

The Walk-Home Mate Turned Favorite

I met Eboo the same day I met Gee—actually, Gee was the mastermind of our connection. At the time, my house had an electricity crisis, so I always carried my charger to school, hoping to power up at the cybercafé before heading home.

After the tutorial, Gee and I went to charge my ever-annoying itel phone which proudly displayed Charging slowly… 11 hours left ugh!. That’s where we met Eboo and Akintade. And before I could even process anything, bold Gee had already collected our phones and exchanged numbers.

Turns out, Eboo and I took the same route home. Naturally, we started walking together every day. And just like that, another friendship was sealed.

 

The Talkative Stranger Who Adopted Us

Akintade was in another department, so we didn’t see him as often. But Gee, Eboo, and I became a tight trio, sticking and figuring out the first few weeks together.

One random afternoon, as Eboo and I were heading home, a girl walked up to us and, without introduction, asked, “Do you guys think I should stay in the hostel, a lodge outside school, or my uncle’s house?”

I was speechless. Because, first of all—who walks up to strangers with such questions? No proper hi, no small talk—just straight to life decisions.

Of course, we answered. And as fate would have it, her uncle’s house was on my street. That’s how Mira became our newest walk-home buddy and part of the squad.

 

The Crisis-Mode Friend I Didn’t See Coming

Some friendships form in the middle of chaos, and that’s exactly how I met Vee.

I was rushing to the main campus for a last-minute submission when I ran into her—literally. Turns out, she was in the same predicament, and we both needed to fix the issue ASAP. We tackled it together, and within an hour, it felt like we had known each other forever.

But the real bonding moment? The unexpected downpour that turned our journey back into a swimming adventure. After suffering side by side, we were officially friends. I introduced her to the rest of the squad, and just like that, we became five.

 

The Squad That Stood the Test of Time

The five of us became inseparable—reserving seats for each other in lectures, signing attendance lists, sharing assignments (sometimes willingly, sometimes under duress), and visiting each other’s hostels for impromptu gists.

We even had matching outfits at one point—yes, we were that close.

Oh, and did I mention that we almost got arrested because of me? (come back for that story on the next episode.)

Through the years, we watched friendships around us crumble, but somehow, we stayed solid. Not because we never fought—we did, over the pettiest things. Sometimes we ignored each other for days, sometimes life got in the way. But we always found our way back.

The secret? Mutual effort. Because let’s be honest—adulting makes it so easy to drift apart. But when friendships are real, no distance, time, or silence can break them.

Back then, it was all about night classes, sleepovers, emotional drama, cooking together, and tackling assignments as a team. Now, it’s sending memes, reels, job links, voice notes, and updates on how life is treating us.

We may not talk every day, but when we do, it feels like nothing has changed.

And don’t get me wrong—I made tons of other amazing friends in university, and we still vibe till date. Life just gets in the way sometimes, and communication dips. But the real ones? They stay, no matter what.

So, if you’re in university and still struggling to find your squad, don’t stress. The best friendships come when you least expect them—whether through a shared dislike for a lecturer, a random act of kindness, or just two broke students figuring out life together.

To my university friends reading this: Y’all are stuck with me for life.

 

 

 

.....Sweet Lilian