To My High School Group Chat,

You know who you are.

You know the group chat I'm talking about.

We ALL have one, a group chat with all our best friends from high school that carried over to college. As we've all embarked in different directions, the group chat has remained. I don't even remember when it was formed at this point, and the members have changed slightly, but for the most part — you guys are my absolute day ones, and I wouldn't want to navigate college without you being just one call away.

First of all: thank you. Thank you for letting me vent about classes that we didn't share, thank you for understanding when I asked your roommate's name over and over again, and most importantly: thank you for being my backbone. Without the support I received from you guys, the initial transition to college would have been much rougher than it was.

When we all lived in the same place, we used "the group chat" to make all of our plans — from parties, to sleepovers, to day trips to all of our favorite spots. We used it during school all day, sending stupid back and forth comments about our shared stomping ground. Sure, things are different now that we're all over the map — but somehow it feels the same.

It's been said that our generation is going to keep in touch with more of our childhood and high school friends than any generation prior thanks to social media. We get to see each other continue to grow up, even when we're further apart than ever before. We get to see everyone else's new friends, and if we're lucky, meet and get along with them too.

Will there be college group chats, with all new friends and the same large amounts of plans? Of course, but there's something special about keeping in such close contact with people who have known you for so much longer. Not only will they want to hear all about your new life, but they'll also be able to give you the best advice on situations they're not a part of — because they KNOW you. Everything you go through in college, they've seen you go through something similar in high school. They know how you react and what they can do to help you feel better. They've seen you through high school, arguably the biggest period of change in someone's childhood, and they're still by your side.

Whether you're filling them in on new boy drama, making plans for when you're home on break, or simply just talking about school — the high school group chat is always there. People always say you should "leave high school behind" when you move onto college, but having an amazing group of friends at the press of a button is something worth holding onto, in college and beyond.