To the people who I called "friends" in high school:

Thank you for those four years of company; for always coming to the football games with me, for grabbing a coffee with me during an off period, for listening to me vent on and on, and for never letting me go alone to those parties I thought were so important to attend. Thank you for the company; but that's really all it was, company.

I'm not saying all my friendships in high school were superficial, but too many of them were. There were the select few who really did care about me, the friends who knew me inside and out, the ones who I knew would drive to my house in the middle of the night if I needed someone to confide in, the ones who knew I'd do the same for them. The friends I was, and still am, grateful for.

But for the most part, the majority of the people I called "friends" didn't know me like friends are supposed to know each other, and didn't care to either. It's sad that it's taken me until college to realize that. For four years, we all seemed to merely associate with one another, sharing just enough information to not be strangers, and comfortably get by. It seemed as though people were just using one another at their convenience; let's call this person so I don't have to go to lunch alone, call this person for a ride to a party... Popularity was measured by how many Instagram likes your picture got, and how many people were excited to see you at social gatherings– but what did it all mean if the people providing these "likes" didn't even care about, or know, the real you?

My friends in college were made through our shared common interests; through realizing we had similar goals and aspirations, through not only the acknowledgement– but through embracing each other's flaws, through long nights of laughter, rough nights out, and hours of bonding during our fabulously mediocre Sunday dinners. It was in college that I realized the difference in quality between relationships established on the question, "What can I get out of this friendship?" from, "What can me and this person accomplish together?"

Once you meet the right group of friends who you can see yourself studying abroad with, adventuring with, being yourself in front of without fear of judgement, vacationing with, and sharing your deep thoughts with; the people in high school who would only call you for a ride, or send you that "oh why didn't you come!?" text, when they didn't invite you in the first place, seem so distant. But without those four years, I wouldn't be half as grateful for the bonds I've made with my best friends now. So, to the people I called friends in high school: thank you. Thank you for teaching me what four years of acquaintanceship was like– because now– I know what true friendship is.