High school friends are the first group of friends that people have. These friends could have been people you grew up in the neighborhood or played sports with.

Now with social media, staying in touch with high school friends is easier than when our parents went to high school. Nowadays, information about your friends and classmates from high school can be instantly shared.

Our generation does not need to wait 10+ years to find out what’s new with everyone by attending a high school reunion. Social media is our high school reunion!

High school was an interesting period in my life. I did the morning announcements and sang in the Holiday Holla, a talent show that was held the last day before winter break, everyone knew me by those two functions-- along with writing for Avon Grove High School's student newspaper, The Devil’s Herald.

I was also known as someone who brought autism awareness to the student body. Everyone respected me for being open about my autism. I truly believe that being open about my autism helped me socially.

So therefore, I was a celebrity at Avon Grove. Everyone knew who I was and I was friendly with everyone. I was even voted as “most school spirit” for the yearbook’s Senior Superlative and Mr. Congeniality at Mr. Avon Grove, our all-male talent and beauty pageant, and runner-up for junior prom king.

However, it sometimes was a disadvantage for me socially.

Also, around the same time, I was also learning how to advocate for myself. I received special education services that included autistic and vision support.

One of my goals that my support team established for me was to learn how to advocate for myself.

I needed this skill for college, in order to receive my adequate accommodations for vision and autism. This required me to ask teachers and paraprofessionals directly for accommodations like large print materials and extra time for assignments and tests.

So therefore, with that interaction, it made me mature a lot quicker and earlier than my peers in my grade.

My high school friends varied by grade. I had at least one person from the freshman class to the senior class.

With me maturing earlier, I began high school with friends that were upperclassmen. Then, as I raised up in the ranks, I began befriending with underclassmen.

Looking back, I feel that my early maturation made me not connect well with my grade. I also believe that if I played sports or participated in musical groups, I would’ve had that “core group” of high school friends. I was the outsider that observed the major cliques.

I only sat with my grade for one year: junior year. I felt awkward at times due to me maturing early and somewhat not in tune with what my peers were talking about.

I’m the type of person who is a social butterfly. I’ll talk to anybody and it came into effect at lunch. I would do “musical chairs” at lunch until I found a group of people I liked.

This is not to say I completely isolated myself from people in my grade, I had friends that were in my grade. I just felt that there are some people who were on my maturity level and then some that were not.

However, since college, I’ve lost touch with most of them.

At the time of graduation, I was looking forward to get out of Avon Grove and broaden myself to new people at Millersville University. However, after my first year, I started to realize who my real friends from high school were.

I believe that my real friends from high school were people who were always happy to hear from me and wanting to make time to hang out. They are also friends that are always liking your posts on social media. They also are friends who are always there to help when you need them.

Even though I am halfway through college, I still continue to learn this lesson.

I feel now that as each school year goes by, more people from high school will come back into my life.

I also feel that sense of friendship from high school from parents and teachers that I had. Last night at Avon Grove’s first football game, I sensed that camaraderie those type of events bring.

There is a sense of community that the Friday Night Lights bring. With that, I see them as my friends from high school.

Your friends from high school don’t always have to be classmates. They are people that made a difference for you and vice versa.

Truly, those are the high school friends you look forward to reconnecting with. This is the life lesson I have learned.