All the reasons high school friends are the best friends

As we grow older, and hopefully somewhat wiser, it’s normal to look back on various stages of life and remember who was there to see you through. For me, I often think about my fantastic group of high school girlfriends. While some people’s high school friendships drift Sll apart, and of course you can make amazing friends long after you graduate, mine have somehow stuck with me through every bit of life since — and for that, I’m beyond grateful. My friends are caring, loving, and loyal all in their own ways, and they’ve only grown more into their unique personalities since the time we met all those years ago. And this is why I think that sometimes, high school friends are the friends you’ll share the strongest bonds with.

They were with you through your awkward stages.

I think we can all admit we’ve been through the “awkward stage” at least once in life. Whether it was the horrible haircut with uneven bangs you rocked freshman year, the braces that put a glare into every picture you took, or even that time you were sure your weird boyfriend was “the one,” high school awkward stages were some of the worst. But the thing is, your high school friends were with you through it all. They told you that you looked awesome when you were convinced you couldn’t go out in public with that hairdo. They built up your self-esteem to get you through each drama-filled breakup you had. This was all partially because they were going through those awkward stages too! We got through it together, and getting through high school is quite a feat in itself.

They know the most about you, meaning they understand the most about you.

When you make new friends as an adult, you can sometimes feel like you have to watch what you say or check yourself to make sure you don’t make a bad impression. But high school friends? They can just look at you and know how you’re feeling. It’s incredible. They’ve known you for so long that they sometimes know you better than you know yourself. This is an amazing quality to have in a friend when you’re going through your quarter-life crisis and can’t even explain to yourself what’s wrong. The thing is, high school friends just know you. The relationships might be long-distance and they may not physically around as much, but no amount of distance can take away the amount you care for each other — you just “get” it.

The inside jokes are endless.

When you’ve known someone since you were wearing horrendous choker necklaces and belting out Backstreet Boys and Destiny’s Child lyrics together, clearly you’ve an endless amount of good times (and bad) together. Chances are, you could sit down together at any age and spend the entire day laughing with each other and reminiscing, and thinking about all the hilarious things you did together. They’ll be the first to remind you of the embarrassing things you did in high school, now that you can look back and say, “what in the world were we thinking?!” And just as much as they can make you laugh, they can make you remember why you love each other so deeply. Between inside jokes and awesome pictures you can #tbt to embarrass one another, high school friends just are their own special breed.

They can put you in your place better than anyone else.

Because your high school friends know you better than anyone else, they can also call you out and put you in your place unlike anyone else you know. They know you so well that when you’re being the slightest bit weird or standoff-ish or just not yourself, they can sense something is off. Because of your history and all that you’ve been through together, you can’t hide much from them. And the most fabulous part of this is that it’s because they care about you so much. They’d rather approach the issue at hand than let it go, because your friendship is that important. So even when you don’t want to hear it, prepare yourself — because they’re not going to stop trying until you’re back to your normal self. You can thank them for it later.

They make for the best reunions.

I’m not necessarily talking about your typical 5, 10, and 15 year reunions, though those are just as hilarious to experience together. I’m talking the once or twice a year get-togethers that your high school friends can plan, look forward to, and enjoy just to catch up. Those types of reunions are harder to come by when friends live across the country (or even if you still live close but are just busy with work, life and everything else in the way). With these friends, it’s easy to appreciate the time together — you can often pick up just where you left off, no matter how long ago that was. Friendships can be hard to keep up with, but it never seems like work as well as with the ones you’ve known and loved forever.