High school friends don’t deserve to be ditched in college
Keep them close, they know too much
They say college friends are forever, but that doesn’t mean you should brutally kick high school friends to the curb and stomp all over their nostalgic little hearts.
Many high school friendships naturally end as we pick and choose who’s worth the effort to keep up with, but for most people at Rutgers, this is basically high school part two. Keeping up with friends isn’t so hard.
I mean, who hasn’t seen at least 20 kids from their high school here?
When it’s so easy to text and meet up for a quick feast at the dining hall, it’s hard to find a reason not to take the time to do it.
What I’ve come to realize is, depending on one set of friends is just silly. They can’t always be there for you.
In college, everybody has a heck of a lot more issues than they did in high school, and are therefore, more in need of therapeutic ranting sessions than ever.
Sometimes, no matter how many ears you have to bend, it just won’t be enough. So, if you limit your friends even more, that mental support you need will be there less and less.
But that’s not to say friends are just people to lean on in times of need or tools in a toolbox. They’re there to have fun with you. High school itself may not have been fun, but thanks to friends, you probably have memories that will last forever. Why not make more?
High school friends aren’t just any old friends. You may prefer to hang out with the friends you’ve made in college, but when you need to pour your eyes out in the midst of a quarter-life crisis, you may be more comfortable with the people who have seen you in a hello kitty onesie.
Of course it makes sense that you want to take the opportunity to make more friends, but all that time you spent skipping gym together and gossiping at lunch shouldn’t amount to nothing.
Cutting off 15-year relationships is just cold.
Besides, high school friends can be more reliable too. Someone who has known you your whole life probably won’t be so quick to let you go over a mental (or physical) cliff as others. They’ll have your back.
When I was at my worst, waking up at 6 a.m. every day to commute, my Uni friends were there for me, but it was the time I grew closest to my high school friends, who’d call me almost every day.
Don’t get me wrong — in my time here, I created some unforgettable friendships. I met people who could make me laugh without saying a word and others who could cheer me up with a simple hug.
So, I’m not saying college friends are in any way inferior to high school friends. It’s all people in the end. But my point is, sometimes you’ll really wish you held onto those people who you now cover your face for when you pass in the street. Don’t make the mistake of letting them go for no reason.
Besides, they probably know your most embarrassing moments and the person you were before you recreated yourself for college, so keep them close. They know too much.