Some say high school is the best years of your life, others say the worst. I say high school is where I found my best friends. Now over eight years later, the same people are not just my friends, but my family. An unlikely group, we have it all: the athlete, the overachiever, the feminist, the joker. I could gush about them for pages on end, but instead here are eight ways best friends are basically a second family as described by my very own best friends:
1.“A friend-family is the group of people who understand you in a way your immediate family can’t. The love is not mandated by biology: it is mandated by a ‘purer’ love, so to speak.” —Bandele Morrison, 4th year student at York University
2. “Each group has its bros, sisters, mom and dad….We chirp each other but always have each other’s backs. We just assume you’re spending the holidays together so we make no other plans. We also spend hours buying each other gifts. We’re very critically aware of a new boyfriend or girlfriend in the family at first, because family deserves only the best.” —Sean Cuthbertson, 4th year student at University of Toronto
3. “We’re there for you through thick and thin, we see you through the good and bad times, and you can always count on our love. We might fight but you always make up. In fact, we witness each other change and learn from one another. My best friends have helped raise me and become the person that I am, just like family. They embarrass you sometimes but at the end of the day you still love them.” —Ramsey Andary, 4th year student at University of Toronto
4. “My grandma passed away last year, and so there were no plans made for this Christmas. With my mom and brother in New Brunswick, I was to spend Christmas alone, but my best friends made sure I didn’t. One of them had me over on Christmas Eve, and another had me for Christmas Day. I was a part of their family and they are mine.” —Phil Cormier former student at York University
5. “I used to be afraid that going to different universities would break up our best friend group; our relationships growing as distant as our physical locations. Now, four years, seven schools, and half a dozen countries later, we’re closer than ever. I don’t worry about the future anymore because I now know that wherever life takes us we’ll always be family and family always has each other to come back to.” —Eleni Kolovos, 4th year student at Laurier University
6. “We tell each other the truth straight up, even when it’s the last thing you want to hear because we care. We’re always there to help you with dumb ideas because it’ll make a good story and you know you’ll laugh at it later. We pretend that our friendship rivals the great ones from Friends, How I Met Your Mother, One Tree Hill… maybe with less drama?” —Shirin Patel, 4th year at Western University
7. “I have one close group of friends from high school that I am still friends to this day. I not only consider them my friends, but my family. They have seen me at my highs and my lows but they are always been there for me. Some of my greatest memories have been spending time with them. I know that if I ever have a problem they will always be there for me.” —Pierre-William Lamontagne, 4th year student at Brock University
8. “Just like family, your best friends laugh at your silly jokes, accept you for who you are and you never feel like you need to prove something to them. It’s complete love and acceptance” – Keian Amina, 4th year student at Queen’s University
I may have had to nag my friends to get some sentimental quotes out of them, but as my family they always come through.