Friendships

I may not have had many years on this earth but I know a few things about friendships. I have amazing friends now that I know will last a lifetime, however I'm going to start a little farther back, when I first moved to the home I live in now. When I first moved I met a girl whom I thought would be a best friend through thick and thin. At first we were great friends, even hung out together every day on a 3 day field trip, it was the best. That all changed when we started middle school, though. In the 6th grade it wasn't completely different, meaning we still talked daily considering we had 1st period together, but we had both started making new friends, both from completely different "groups" so to speak. My new friend Rachael, who I had met through English class, invited me to sit with her and her friends at lunch, of course I said yes. I sat with them and that was one of the best things I could have done. She introduced me to a few people, the main ones being Levi and Katie. I was ecstatic when we were introduced because I had met Katie when we were younger on a softball team. I had hit her in the ear and BAM! Friendship acquired. We just clicked, it was amazing to have that much in common with someone, it was a nice feeling. I liked feeling like I had a best friend, which is what I had found in Rachael, Katie, and Levi. With that my friend from science class and I drifted, her whole attitude changed and she was different, acted like she was better than me and I didn't understand it. I tried as hard as I could to stay friends, but it takes two people to make a friendship work and she wasn't trying, not like I was. Eventually it was down to just Rachael, Katie, Levi, and me. In that little group I was closest to Katie, I guess I liked the fact that we knew each other before middle school. Katie and I grew closer whilst I found out more and more about Rachael and Levi. Rachael and I talked, but it wasn't as much as I should have looking back on it. During this time I also developed a crush on Levi; he was just a very funny guy and it was cool, he was my first real guy friend so that probably helped a little. I found out Rachael liked him too, so we talked a little more because of that. As time went on I got more attached to Katie and that was unhealthy. Devoting all your time to one friend is not a good thing to do. I lost sight of the importance of having a variety of friends and I attached myself to her. Don't ever forget to have friends. In the summer that followed Levi and I texted so much, I had to delete messages every day to make room for just our conversations. We were pretty close until my sister and him got into a fight. After that I wasn't allowed to text him anymore. Fast forward to 7th grade. Levi and I had definitely drifted apart, we still held up conversations from time to time, but it wasn't the same as it had been. Katie and I were even closer, and we were closer to Rachael, I considered her a best friend. I had been introduced to even more people who I'm still friends with to this day, so I won't mention them. Life was good, but I was still insanely attached to Katie. 7th grade was the year I met Mimi, Angel, and when I was introduced to Tayloranne. As of right now they aren't the main people in the story, so I won't go into much detail about that. 7th grade past without much drama so I'll skip ahead. 8th grade year, the last year of middle school, the top dogs as my wonderful father would say. The school year started normal, or as normal as you can get with the weirdos I call friends. We would joke around, laugh, and obsess over One Direction like most 13 year old girls. Then everything changed. Katie got a boyfriend. He was the exact opposite of her and she hated that she had nothing in common with him, so she changed the way she dressed and acted. She wore all black and cut her hair and changed the type of music she listened to. Her attitude got worse and me, well I tried to salvage our friendship. Her and Rachael got into a fight and I almost sacrificed a valuable friendship to stay friends with her, thankfully I didn't though. My mom told me that my attitude was changing and I refused to believe her. Looking back on it I realize my mom was right and I'm glad I turned my act around before it was too late. Moving along my friendships with Mimi, Angel, Tayloranne, and Rachael further developed. We had a lot in common and they were there for me when my "best friend" was changing and was following her boyfriend around like a lost puppy. This went along for the rest of the school year and then, it was summer. We were finally no longer middle schoolers and it was one of the best things ever. That summer I chose to get a better outlook on life and became a more optimistic and happy person.

High School had arrived. It has been about four months since I have entered the 9th grade and I am loving it. I have come to realize Katie is a negative influence I don't need in my life and I accept that. It is going to be hard letting go of a friendship like that, but I have to.I have since found 3 lifelong friends named Rachael, Angel, and Tayloranne. They are the best friends I could ever have, and I know I'm blessed to have found them at such a young age. I hope everyone finds best friends like I have found mine.