College- just about the time we start to feel we're outgrowing, well, everything. How important is it to remember there are certain things you just don't outgrow, though? You never outgrow responsibilities or learning new things, but most importantly, you don't outgrow TRUE friendships. Those high school best friends that you may feel yourself drifting apart from right about now may be some of the most important people to not only your past self, but also to becoming who you want to be in the future.
Let me begin by reminding you that the best friends you had through high school were with you through probably the most awkward time in your life. By college, you're at least starting to figure out who you are, but if you're like most of the population you had absolutely no idea during high school. Your high school friends know whether you ate cookies for lunch every day, tried 15 different sports or 15 different boyfriends, and if you failed home economics, and still stuck with you. Now that's saying something. Maybe having people that know all your embarrassing stories and past mishaps isn't ALWAYS the best but having that genuine understanding to come back to is so important.
So many people view college as a time to start fresh and reinvent yourself- and I support that wholeheartedly. We should all have the chance to make changes and grow but starting anew can be downright exhausting sometimes. It can take a while to warm up to the new people and situations college brings with it. No matter how fast you make friends it's so refreshing to have those people that you don't have to explain everything to- they just know. High school friends are the people that remind you what your favorite foods are by buying them for you when you visit and who still have your toothbrush from 5 years ago in their bathroom.
Having friends that know where you came from AND where you're going gives you roots. Tell me it's not great to have someone to hang out with those times you actually have to come home from college. Sleepovers with a whole heck of a lot of ice cream and endless new things to talk about never get old. If you just never go home, having old friends gives you plenty of fun places to visit when you're bored. Either way, hanging on to your high school friends is a win-win from a spring break trip to Christmas break in your hometown.
Regardless of how much you loved or hated high school, the friends you had were probably the main reason you made it out alive. Yeah, thanking them is nice, but what's better for both parties is keeping them around. That doesn't mean you have to have a high school reunion every time you're at home but finding those few friends to catch up with won't do you any harm. In fact, brunch dates are such a thing right now that you might even get a good acai bowl and some cute pics along the way.
