The possibility of losing my friends when I leave high school scares me. In fact, I often try not to think about it.

 Until last year, I’d never had an amazing group of friends. I had individual friends, but didn’t really fit in with any actual groups. It was emotionally draining to try and figure out where I belonged. I also lost friends along the way, which was difficult.

 Flash forward a year later, I recently found out that one of my best friends is moving. It was a crushing blow to my life that I think about often.

  The thing is, we always focus on the negative aspects of life. I often find myself caught up in the absence my friends will have on my day to day life.

  However I now understand that, while her moving away will be impossible to deal with, it’s almost a blessing. I am not worried about losing touch with her because I know she’ll be there for me in the end.

  While goodbyes are the hardest things we can do, it will only make my friendship stronger. I know and trust in myself and my friend that we will get through this.

  What frustrates me is when adults, often parents and other older family members, tell their kids that they won’t keep your high school friendships when they leave for college. I cannot express how often I have heard that.

 And while I extremely don’t like that, it’s the fact that we don’t have faith in  relationships we make in high school that frustrates me most. Just because we are young and aspects of our lives change often doesn’t mean we should prioritize other things over our friendships.

 We shouldn’t just assume that once we carry on with our lives after high school that we will leave all our past friendships behind. High school is about self discovery, and we need to understand that the friendships we make and the relationships we build will help shape us into the people we become.