College life can be a battlefield, and you need to have the right people fighting by your side to make it through.

College is a really strange concept when we think about it. A massive amount of young adults are stuck on one stretch of land, learning extremely difficult and different things from one another while striving to get the perfect grade, participating in as many extracurricular activities as possible to build their resumes and a majority of those students actually live on the same grounds where they go to class.

Sound overwhelming?

Most of us are so used to this crazy lifestyle that until it’s laid out for us, we forget how much stress we’re actually under. To function as normal and healthy human beings, everyone needs an escape from this world of academics and achievements we immerse ourselves in.

And if you escape with the right people, it will make the college climb that much easier.

The college struggle can in many ways be applied to the movie “Titanic.” Although we’re not on a boat, near icebergs or searching for a long-lost jewel, most college students are struggling to find themselves, searching for love and sacrificing every day, either for themselves or for others around them.

Jack and Rose were the dream team. They came together by chance, and the bond they formed was instantaneous. Their beginning was rocky, and they came from two very different walks of life, but in the end, they came together to form a trust stronger than most people can ever conceive.

It’s true the characters of Jack and Rose were in love, and love was what brought trust, but I believe you can form friendships which as much trust as Jack and Rose were able to acquire. If you’re a new person on campus and can’t quite relate to the stress or panic I talked about above, consider yourselves lucky. But for those who have been around the sidewalks of Iowa State for a couple of years, we know that a bump in the road will be sure to come your way eventually.

Whether it’s a personal struggle, family issues, relationship problems or simply having no idea what you want to do when you “grow up,” you will hit that iceberg in the middle of the ocean, and you better hope your Jack or Rose is by your side to offer, and hopefully share, a door with you so you both make it through.

This long lasting bond doesn’t form overnight, however, and sadly we don’t have Celine Dion serenading us in the background to help conjure up those feelings quicker. These relationships need to be nurtured and respected because they are extremely hard to come by. People seem to form stronger friendships when they have the same struggles in common. The college atmosphere is perfectly setting us up to make friends; we just have to take the time to invest in those relationships once they have started.

There is no other time in our lives that we get the opportunity to encounter thousands of new people every day just by walking around campus. You never know how one of those people could influence your life for the better. Be impulsive, vulnerable and set out to make friends; not enemies, not a person to cheat off for the next quiz, not a random hook up for the weekend: a true friend.

Once those bonds have formed, the rest is easy. Enjoy the things you have in common, but always try to learn something from one another along the way. Jack matured and learned to live a different lifestyle than the one he was used to. Rose learned how to let loose, be carefree and to love a man her entire life when she was told she couldn’t. When you learn things from those who teach them well, the lesson will stay with you for much longer. Whether they are lessons of trust, love or how to play a new video game, make the most out of what you can learn from one another.

Don’t let your university years slip by without making friends you can spend them with. You never know when you might need those friends to help you celebrate, study or get off that sinking ship. Friends are important; don’t let the potential for a Jack and Rose bond in your life slip away.