An important part of everyone's college experience is making new friends and meeting all kinds of people, but that doesn't mean you should cut off the friends you've made during high school.
Here's why:
1. They've been part of your life for several years.
May 2015 (freshman year)
Sam Margolis
Even if you didn't befriend these people until high school, you've probably known some of them since elementary or middle school, which is literally your entire life.
By the time you started high school, you were 14 years old and you graduated around 18, so you spent the bulk of your teenage years surrounded by the same friends who influenced your life in so many ways.
2. You share so many memories and experiences together.
February 2018 (class night for seniors)
Sam Margolis
From birthdays, holidays, parties, school dances, and classes, your high school friends have been there through it all. There are so many things you have experienced together both inside of the classroom and out that you will remember for many years to come.
Prom. Homecoming. Football games. The SAT. These are pivotal parts of your high school career that you will never forget, and neither will the people you experienced them with.
3. You were there to see each other accomplish great things.
October 2017 (National Honor Society inductions)
Sam Margolis
Throughout the four or more years you have known each other, you've seen your friends win awards, pass their driving tests, get their first jobs, and be accepted into college.
You achieve many milestones while you're a teenager, and the friends you've made in high school were there for them all.
They will continue to be there for you throughout college, too.
4. You watched each other grow up.
November 2015 (My friends and I at my surprise Sweet 16)
Sam Margolis
Think about it. You have known these people for four years or even longer. You were all practically children when you started high school, but by the time you graduated, you became adults!
You went to each other's sweet sixteens, celebrated multiple New Years in a row, and anticipated senior prom ever since you guys were freshmen.
You've witnessed each other grow and mature and helped shape one another into the people you are today.
5. You supported one another's college decisions.
May 1, 2018 (college commitment day)
Sam Margolis
Choosing which college to go to was difficult for some, but no matter where you decided to go, your friends were there to support and encourage you.
You've witnessed each other make such important decisions regarding your academic future. This is a huge deal because moments like these are going to impact the rest of your life.
Many years from now, you'll look back on your high school days and remember the people you grew up with and how important they were/are to your life because they were present for experiences like these.
6. There are so many inside jokes only you guys would understand.
Homecoming 2017
Sam Margolis
The people you share hilarious inside jokes with are the best kind of people, and most of the time they're going to be people you went to school with.
There are easily hundreds of inside jokes that my friends and I have made during our four years of high school, and even more if you include elementary and middle school.
This picture itself is an inside joke (shout out to my Ridley friends and long-live the Hoco King!)
If you know, you know.
7. They'll always be there when you come home.
May 2019
Sam Margolis
Of course, you're going to have new friends in college and that's great, but your high school friends are the ones who will be there when you come home.
Even if a lot of them moved far away, they will still be in your life and be there for you no matter what.
They will become your lifelong best friends if you maintain the relationship throughout college and beyond.
