From unescapable drama to changing sports teams, friend groups evolve throughout high school. Where old friends are lost, new friends are gained. So is a BFF really a best friend forever?

After high school, most students believe they will set out on different paths than their closest friends.  New colleges, new jobs, and even new states inevitably lead to new friends.  But for some, like my own grandmother, high school friendships truly are forever.  

Having grown up in Lynn, Massachusetts, my grandmother attended Saint Jean Baptiste School from kindergarten to twelfth grade and went on to work at Andover Bank.  While she is now retired and resides in New Hampshire with a great deal of traveling under her belt, one thing has remained the same, her friendships from high school.

“[In high school,] there was a group of us, like with your friends,” she says.  “There was Julie, Annett, Priscilla, myself, Kathy, and a couple of others.”  While the names clearly indicate a separation of generation, friend groups from 1961 seem to resemble those of today’s high schoolers.

“We still see each other,” my grandmother adds.  “We started getting together for lunch just recently.  We try to do it every couple of months.”

After hearing this amazing story of continued friendship, I couldn’t help but wonder if most people remain in contact with their friends from high school.  Do Pentucket high school students even plan to keep in contact with their current friends in the future?

“Definitely!” Assures senior Sarah Stewart.  While she admits her “friend group is very different now” and has “changed a lot” throughout high school, she has noticed that “by senior year, you realize who is there and who is not.”  She believes that the friendships she has formed this year are lasting and ones she will keep many years past graduation.

One of these friendships, with senior Molly Hogan, is sure to last for the long haul.  “I’ll be your kids’ cool aunt and you’ll be my kids’ cool aunt,” Hogan tells Stewart.  She adds, “There’s a chance we could even go to the same school [next year].”

Senior Ethan Bridgewater is equally as optimistic about his continued high school friendships.  “I think my friends will still want to hang out after graduation,” he says.  “My brother is two years into college and he’s still friends with a lot of people from Pentucket.”

However, for some seniors, such as Ben Quinn who is “looking to move to New York after graduation,” staying in touch with high school friends just doesn’t seem plausible.  “I’ll probably still be friends with Ben Thornton though,” he adds optimistically.  

While at my grandmother’s graduation all students had were letters written in yearbooks, current high school students possess a variety of social media applications allowing them to remain in contact with friends all over the world.  Both Bridgewater and Stewart plan to rely on technology and social media to stay in contact with their high school friends.  

Quinn on the other hand, asks, “Why bother texting when you can see [your friends] in person?” Sticking with the more traditional means of communication, like my grandmother, Quinn plans on “meeting up for lunch” with old friends to remain close.  Even so, today’s advances in technology ensure that high school friendships can maintain intact after graduation.