Make new friends, but keep the old—those old friends can be the best ones you have! College may have taken you and your childhood friends to new places and new phases in life, but you know those old friends will always be there for you every time you go back home. Here are just a few of the great things about your childhood BFFs.
1. They knew you when you had braces (and they still liked you anyway!).
They saw you through the most awkward and cringeworthy phases of growing up, and they never left your side because they were rocking acne and metal mouths right along with you.
2. They were with you through all your risky haircuts, makeup experiments and bad fashion choices.
Together you learned that blue eyeshadow was a no-no and that gaucho pants should never have been a thing.
3. They experienced all your firsts with you, from your first sleepover to your first house party.
Whenever you look back on all your memorable first-time experiences, you’ll remember that they were there, too, coaching you along and freaking out right alongside you.
4. Their homes feel as familiar as your own.
Growing up, you spent as much time over at their houses as you spent at your own, and going back to visit them always feels like returning home.
5. You’re pretty much a part of one another’s families.
You consider their moms and dads your honorary parents, and their siblings annoy you as much as your own do.
6. They know your first loves and your first enemies.
You never have to explain who was who with them, because they know all the significant characters in your life as well as you do.
7. You experienced the joys of puberty together.
From tampons to bras, you made your way through the trials and tribulations of adolescence together.
8. You learned some of life’s most important lessons together.
When you had an awkward question about the birds and the bees, you could count on them to fill you in (unless they were just as clueless as you were).
9. They know things about you that your new friends would never know.
Your childhood friends are the keepers of all those mortifying moments and special memories that you’d never tell your college friends about (or that you may have even forgotten about yourself!).
10. You can always reminisce about old times together.
Your new friends may not care about all the great times you had in high school, but your old friends will always be down to talk about the good old days.
11. You get excited to catch them up on what they’ve missed.
From your latest hook-up to your new internship, you love being able to tell your childhood friends about the exciting changes that are happening in your life.
12. You can go ages without talking, but when you’re back together, it’s like nothing ever changed.
With your childhood friends, things always seem to slide effortlessly back into place.
13. No matter how much time has passed and how much distance is put between you, you know they’ll always be there for you.
College friends may come and go, but those cherished childhood friendships are forever.