In the months leading to high school graduation, we were all told that it’s okay if we don’t maintain close contact with those we have been friends with our entire lives. We were told that we were only friends with people because we saw them five days a week, and have been sitting next to them since preschool. While I cannot deny that some bonds lose contact over the years, others are stronger. Here are my top 5 reasons why your friends from high school are still very much needed in college, even if you are 1,100 miles apart.
1. Who are you going to call? Your high school friends
When you go home for break, be it summer or winter, it will be refreshing to catch-up and know that you have been in-the-loop of each other’s lives. You will realize that friendship was more than chatting in that boring math class 5th period, and that it was definitely more than just having someone to sit with at lunch. You will realize that friendship is late-night adventures, rocking out to some silly playlist you made in middle school. Friendship is eating Doritos, lots and lots of Doritos, while obsessing over Season 4 of Orange is the New Black. Friendship is unorganized road trips to unspecified locations. But friendship is also talking on the phone for a mad amount of time, crying about the test you just took, or laughing about the embarrassing moment you dropped the beaker in chemistry right in front of your professor. Your friends from high school are only a phone call away.
2. They know you like the back of your hand
From your first heartbreak to that one time you tripped and sprained your right ankle, thrice, actually, your high school friends have been there for everything. They know about that time in 7th grade when you cut your own bangs. They know about your quirky side and how you giggle when you lie. They most likely have more insight on you as a person than your college friends, or even, your family. You’ve cried together, you’ve laughed together, and you have definitely watched Magic Mike as if you were in an actual strip club. If you feel that you are confused, or doubtful in yourself, call up your high school friends. They will remind you of the time you picked yourself up and got back on the playing field. They are there to remind you of every accomplishment, every success, and every inspiring moment you have ever had. Your friends from high school are practically your siblings, who are there whenever you don’t feel the need to let your college campus know your struggles. You can cry together over the phone, and maybe laugh about how stupid you both are. High school friends are a support group away from your new life. It’s easy to get caught up with the social life on campus, but sometimes it’s necessary to step back and recognize your growth. They’re there to remind you of your progress. High school friends know you better than you know yourself. They’re there for your failures, but they’re also there to celebrate your achievements, whether it is passing your class or getting bae’s number.
3. The good ole' times
It’s easy to forget the fun adventures you have had with your friends, especially when you’re making new memories with new friends. They say the past is in the past, which I wholeheartedly agree with, but that does not mean that people from the past cannot be in your present or future. Don’t let the social stigma of making new friends steer you away from old ones. Cherish the old memories and create new ones, even if it’s with friends from back home. Nostalgia is completely acceptable. It’s okay to hold onto those memories, and it’s also okay to make new ones, regardless of who they are with. There’s no reason why you should not hold onto the people who have been there with you for silly adventures to the local grocery store. Hold on to them; they’re still there. They always will be.
4. They're weird with you in the best way
Doesn’t everyone have their own slightly more embarrassing version of “Jenny and Karla’s Super Fabulous Cooking Tunes?” No? Okay. We all have small jokes, tune-lists, special spa days, and movie-commentary spectaculars that only you and that special friend share. While it’s easy to replace the events, jokes, or adventures, it is not easy to replace the people who have been in your life longer than anybody else. They will always remember the very round bob you sported in elementary school, and the time you had to double date in middle school because you were too scared to be alone with bae. You have left a part of yourself in them, as they have left a part of themselves in you. You have adapted to each other’s weird quirks. They’re a fall-out-boy-loving, puzzle-doing, lemonade-drinking person, and you’re a high-school-musical-dance-along-participant, book-loving, coffee-obsessed person. Every once in a while, you find yourself listening to Fall Out Boy and doing puzzles. It’s okay to miss your high school friends. It’s okay to hold on to them. Who else is going to sing along to musicals in the car with you while it’s raining?
5. They love you and you love them, although maybe not all at once
Even if you left for college, or even if they left, they still care. They have never given up on you, nor have you on them. You were proud when they got into their dream school, and you’re proud of them now. While distance has changed, and your dates are now through Skype and not at a Chinese restaurant, your friendship has not changed. Your reunion over the summer will be even better than you ever expected. They will share all of the crazy things they’ve done, and you will listen with anticipation. You will remember why you held onto them, even if you did not see them ever day. In fact, you will find that your friendship has only become more whimsical and fiercely fabulous. The squad slayed, and the squad continues to slay.
