I'd like to think that throughout our lives we all transition from friend groups. I know I definitely have from elementary school all the way to college. But, I really do feel that all my friendships were pure and true and that they've had an impact on the kind of person I am today. This all sounds pretty corny, I know, but I feel it's so relevant and accurate!

Actually, in elementary school, I'd like to think I was kind of jumping around in best friends. I had some friends I considered best friends, but I really don't think they were, haha. There was too much of that elementary bullying going around (clean bullying I swear, nothing serious at all), and I distinctly remember not being included in many secrets which made me really sad at the time. Also my "best friend" said I WASN'T FUNNY?! Haha, but really, I think friendship should include those who are delighted by your presence and laugh at your jokes :'). Anyway, elementary friends did offer some personality traits that I've kept to this day, such as the ability to be there for others, to really care for them. But, I know I did have some bad personality traits here too, like the fact that I was willing to do anything to be popular, even being mean to others. Yeah, I guess there were also times where I was kind of the bully, but I always had a guilty conscience afterward and I did apologize for it (tbh I still think of these things to this day). All in all, the elementary school gave me some good memories and recess would stay forever in my heart.

When I got to middle school, I was happy to say that those friends included more people that I still contact today, and they encompass some of my best friends (almost all of the other girls in this photo were friends from my middle school years). At the beginning of middle school, I still hung out with the friends I had made from elementary school, but after they all became cheerleaders, I realized that they weren't my scene anymore. Luckily though, I quickly made new friends in my English Language Arts (ELA) class who would become my friends to this day. They were so sweet to quickly let me into their friend group and to sit with them. This friend group then branched out to include others that went to the same elementary school as my first two new friends from ELA class. I'd like to say in middle school became the birth of my emo phase (for all of you true emo kids pls don't attack me I could be totally ignorant haha). I was listening to all those cool Hot Topic bands (but not the super screamo hardcore ones), and I even owned a shirt that said "Muffins are Just Ugly Cupcakes," lol. Also, I'm not saying drama didn't happen among my friend group, because it totally did (especially concerning boys, ew). But all in all, these were the friends I carried with me into high school!

In high school, I did make new friends, but really my main friend group had the majority of best friends I'd made in middle school :). I was also fortunate enough to have some of my best friends from my grade school years also come with me to college, because I'd like to think that I'm a person who really doesn't mind change after a while but I can be paranoid about things and afraid of these things too, so at first, I really am not the biggest fan of change. Here in college though, I'm really hoping that I've made a solid friend group that I will have for the rest of my life!

All in all, this article really goes out to those friends from middle/high school. I really miss everyone and it sucks that life gets in the way. I think I do try to reach out to these friends, but I know life gets in the way, and we are all in college right now and school can be a handful a lot of the times. But if any of you are reading this, know that I really really do miss you and I'm sorry for being too chicken to hang out with some of you more often during school breaks. I love all of you dearly.