Friendship

It's that time of the summer again. It's the time where you need to part ways with your hometown friends as we all go back to school. Tomorrow marks the first day my friends are heading back home, and it doesn't get any happier from there. I have enjoyed seeing them this summer, although I would have liked to see them more. With my high school friends, I like to think we have a unique bond between us. As a grade of 70, we were all pretty much family. Sure, there were those unavoidable cliques, but we all realized that we were in it together. Whenever we get back together over winter and summer breaks, things naturally fall into place again. Sure, it is only our first year back from college, and there is no doubt that people will change over time and that friendships will slowly break apart, but for now, I am satisfied with how everything is.

Even so, I can't avoid questioning the depths and the futures of my friendships. What will happen next summer, in 2 years, in 5 years? It's scary to think that some of the people I had experienced such great times with may just fall out of the picture. It's scarier to contemplate the possibility of my friends turning into something that they had never been in high school. College changes people, some for the best and some for the worse. Are any of my friends going to go from genuine and genial to artificial and unpleasant? I hope not, but another three years in college can change a person for sure. What about the possibility of being replaced by their new college friends? After all, instead of us spending the whole year together, they now spend two thirds of the year with their buddies at school.

Yes, I may be insecure about my friendships and fearful of changes that may come, but I need to ask myself some questions as well. How do I feel about my college friends? Will they be there for me in 5,10,15 years? Do I come out of college with those one or two friends that I tell my children stories about?

Honestly, I think that I may have already found some of those people that will continue to affect my life for a long time during and after college. Maybe I do not need to worry as much about my high school friendships, as I have found other people with whom I can talk to, hang out with, and come to with problems. The mysteries of sophomore year excite me, and while I would like to savor these last two weeks of summer, something tells me I have a lot to look forward to at college.