To my past friends, acquaintances and frenemies,

You all have made an impact on me in a different way. We spent so many years together, then one day left for college. Even though I graduated over a year ago, I still think about my classmates from time to time. Coming back home for breaks, whether it is summer or Thanksgiving, we never forgot about each other. Some relationships stuck together, others never seemed to rekindle.

When I came home, I did not even think to message my friends from my hometown. I was overwhelmed with messaging my friends from college counting down the days 'til I got back to school. Looking back at all those breaks I had and all the time I could have spent with my "old" friends, I would have. I never made enough time.

I look through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and see people I graduated with and feel ardent to see my fellow classmates doing so well. Whether they went away, stayed home, or just started working, we all have a story and finally moved on from high school. It was what we were meant to do.

The thought of growing up never occurred to me that I would not be as close to the people I spent four years with. I always imagined maturing would be so easy and losing contact with someone I sat next to every day seemed nearly impossible. I have been to a couple reunions with my friends, but since I left for college, nothing seemed the same. Not that it turned out to be a bad thing, but it gave me a reason to look back on the past and smile. Knowing I had a great high school career with awesome teammates and inspiring friends, I could never forget those wonderful experiences.

Thank you to all those I got along with; you showed me the meaning of friendship. Even if it was a high school fling, we made it through some of the roughest and best years of our lives.

To the boys, you were very boisterous.

To the girls, you were compassionate -- most of the time.

I never regretted not rekindling old relationships, but I do miss seeing everyone and being so close to all my friends. They say high school will be the best four years of your life; however, I may disagree with that saying, but it was very memorable.

As more years go by, we will grow more and more each day, only to strive for prosperity in the future. High school has taught us how to fake it 'til we make it. So far, that has been the most important rule in my life. It has applied in college, work, and even social outings.

We say our teachers never taught us anything useful, but we ended up being each others' teachers. I undoubtedly learned the most from my fellow classmates. Thank you all!