As you leave high school, you and your friends most likely will not end up going to the same college. That is totally okay! Each of you will have your own paths in hopes of fulfilling your dreams, but how can you just forget about all of the memories and good times you shared with those people?
The answer: you can’t, and you don’t have to. Instead you, you learn to accept it and move on. For most of you, you probably spent all of middle and high school (and maybe even elementary or kindergarten!) with the same people. You might also think they are the only people who truly understand you, but that’s not always the case.
The idea of just starting over is scary, but I am here to tell you it will be fine. I’m not suggesting that you forget they exist, but you have to slowly move on your own individual path, and sometimes this may not involve your high school friends. Beginning college, you will feel like you are all alone, but everyone there is alone with you. You will meet some people that are totally different from you, and you will meet people that want the same things as you. None of them will be like your high school friends, but some of them will end up being a large part of your social life in college.
When you first move to college, you and your high school friends will stay in touch a lot. Then, as you each start adjusting to college, you will slowly stop connecting the way you did before, and yes, this is heartbreaking, but it is a natural thing. You just won’t have the time to talk to them everyday or every week anymore depending on your schedules, and you will meet new people that will eventually replace your old friends. This is nothing you need to feel guilty about! It is a large part of life.
High school was great and all, and those memories will forever stay with you, but the people won’t. For me, I love my high school friends so so much, and I wish we never left each other, but as time passes, you will become more fond of the idea of separating. It is not that you stopped caring for your high school friends, and it is not that they don’t care about you. It is just that the times have changed. Your high school friends will always have a special part in your heart, and you will in theirs, but nothing lasts forever.