In every person’s life, they’ve discovered that a handful of friends will come and go. There are the friends from dancing school, the cheer squad, the baseball team, the soccer team, the neighborhood friends, the family friends, the friends that you don’t even know how or why you’re friends. But through every friendship that withers away, there’s one group that will forever stay: the high school friends.
These are the friends that make you question just about everything in life, but only in the best ways. They make sure you know if something is worth it before even getting involved. They’re the ones who don’t allow you to make bad decisions, unless they’re making them with you. They’re the friends who would never let you make a fool out of yourself and drunk text the guy who’s been ignoring you for a week just to ask, “id evryhin 0k y hvnt u call m3?” And if you do send that text, they’ll let you pretend in the morning that it was just one of them messing around on your phone. Best friend goals.
Your high school friends are the ones you can turn to when your college friends suck (which is going to happen a lot). They’re the ones you can turn to when guys suck (which is going to happen even more). They’re the group chat that goes off all day long and you think you missed 10 conversations of juicy drama, but then you remember none of you are even relevant enough to have drama so the whole conversation was about politics, ingrown hairs and pictures of the pimples they woke up with. Most of the time you don’t even try to go back and read these conversations because you’re scared of what you might find. Other times, you’ll go back so you can find the embarrassing pictures you need to keep for their upcoming birthday collages.
But all jokes aside, your high school friends are the only people in this world who truly know you. They’re the only people who you truly know in and out. Though you didn’t chronologically grow up with them, you actually grew up with them. From the immature high school drama, to real college stress. From the days you swore the sky was falling because you didn’t get your way, to applying for real jobs and trying to sound professional. They’ve been there through every single guy you’ve dated, through every single breakup, and never fail to remind you of single embarrassing hookup that you don’t even remember yourself. You know you’ve all grown up when you’re no longer up to date when your enemies’ latest business—trust me, we’ve come a long way.
When you need people to talk to about literally anything, these are the people you turn to. When you need to feel better about a situation, they’re the ones you turn to. When you lose sight of the truth and need a reality check, they’re the first people who will give it to you. And no, you’re not always going to agree. There are going to be times when you don’t want to talk to them because you don’t want to hear what they have to say, knowing you won’t like it. But at the end of the day, you know they’re the ones who are right. You know they’re the ones who would never steer you wrong and are only looking out for you.
The memories with your high school friends are the memories you will value forever. Half of these memories probably include peeing in the woods and then coming home to a massive sleepover in the friend’s house with the biggest basement. I think back to all of the amazing times we’ve had together, and all I can do is get more excited for our future. I think about everything we’ve been through—the good, the bad, the ugly and the insane. And all I can do is thank God that they were right next to me throughout the entire ride.
Your group of friends from high school are the friends you will never be able to forget, or get rid of. They’re the ones who entered your life when you were only 14, and who get the most excited when you turn 21. They’re your future bridesmaids and god parents of your children. But even deeper than that, they stopped being just your best friends a long time ago. They became your family.
