We as college students have an incredible opportunity to build connections now that can catapult us forward for the rest of our lives. College is a time that we should use to test ourselves. Not only mentally, but also socially.

The next time you have the opportunity to meet someone new, take the chance, because the risk doesn’t come close to the possible reward.

Getting ahead in life can be as much about who you know as what you know, and many Fresno City College students are passing up the opportunity to make what could be long-lasting and important relationships. The social aspect of college is often tossed aside and looked at as simply immature partying.

But it is not only more important than that, it actually serves a very important part in making us well-rounded people. It is true that the reason that many of us attend college is to get a degree and move along the path to a rewarding career.

But alongside that degree, one of the most important things that can be acquired is the relationship of like-minded individuals who can help you by looking for jobs or being references on an application.

Friends can help you scout out positions and true friends will let you know about an opening that you might be able to get.

Not only can the professional relationships become an enormous benefit in the hopefully not-so-distant future, but what could possibly be wrong with making new friends?

The different kinds of people that you can meet on a campus as diverse as Fresno City College is incredible. The interest, talents and cultures are so diverse that you can learn so many different things from your classmates right here on campus.

Yet if you walk around campus on a daily basis, you will see many of the same faces in the same places.

The routines that have begun around campus are discouraging only because it shows that we as students have found a comfort zone and have refused to move from it.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for staying in your comfort zone. But leaving this zone on occasion and testing yourself can be hugely beneficial.

People are resources, and so are people skills. The ability to stop, talk and create a rapport with another person is close to invaluable and is considered in just about any field that you could get into.