Schools are usually our second homes. It is often said that being a student at school proves to be the best years of one’s life. The place where we make our very first friends. School life is one of the warmest journeys which we cherish forever. From learning textbook lessons to learning life lessons, school life becomes our foremost teacher.
As often said, the journey is more beautiful than the destination, and analogously friends support us during this journey of life. From sitting together, saving a seat for our friend, snacking while the teacher is delivering a lecture, and witnessing so many pairs of hands in one lunchbox, our school life remains a lot more to remember.
Change is a law of nature. As time passes, the nature of a relationship changes too. The people with whom we were close are now an appointment away. There is certainly a change in priorities and there’s nothing wrong with it. The changing dynamics of friendship make it strenuous to fathom the real meaning of it. I believe that, in the hierarchy of relationships, friendships are at the bottom. Parents, siblings, and romantic relationships come first. For me, this is because friendships are based on choice, unlike blood relationships with our parents and siblings. The best part about friendships is that they are voluntary, unlike other relationships. They lack a formal structure. We may go months without talking to a friend but still have the same level of rapport and reverence for each other. Contrastingly, we tend to lose certain friends while transitioning from school to college.
The voluntary nature of friendship makes it subject to life’s whim in a way that other relationships aren’t
Julie Beck, Senior Editor at The Atlantic
The comforting idea of friendship is that I can choose to get in or to get out. There’s nothing that militates the idea of autonomy in this relationship. The idea of choosing each other and wanting to be part of it forms the basis of it. But still, I wonder how tedious of a task it is to maintain this relationship after we complete our schooling. I have witnessed the distance that accumulates in the bond. Nonetheless, I feel it’s bound to happen. While entering new environments, and building new relationships, there’s a shift in value judgment. The real bittersweet aspect of friendships is that it is a form of self-discovery to understand our nature. In simpler terms, accessing our own compatibilities and emotional quotient. A friendship has this exuberant and profound importance for figuring out who you are and what’s next. If we take into consideration the business in our lives, it often makes a parabola. Once we retire, the circle of life gives us more time to get back to our oldies. More time for shared living. As elucidated in several social-emotional theories, towards the end of life, people tend to relive those moments in which they find joy.
Whether people hold onto their old friends or grow apart, it seems to come down to dedication and communication.
In my opinion, the foremost change in friendship from school to college is a lesson on how to maintain and keep those precious friendships alive, to keep them breathing. Social media is a powerful tool to do so. We may or may not be in touch with a friend in the present but they were certainly important to us at an earlier time in our lives. This makes us think fondly of them and still consider them as a friend.