There are several aspects that help shape a person throughout his or her lifetime. Family, faith and schooling–all of these aspects are often complemented by one thing: friendships. For most people, friends play a major role in determining whom someone becomes in the future. High school helps a person decide a path to pursue for one’s future, and the people surrounding that person help shape his or her personality. “If it weren’t for the friendships that I have today, I wouldn’t be as open to the world,” says Hubbard Senior Jenna Kelver. Friendships in high school, good or bad, are essential to a person’s social and mental development later in life.

Friends are important to have, especially during hard times. Having someone to rely on makes any stressful situation a lot easier to cope with. “During high school, you go through many hard times and heartbreaks. It would’ve been nearly impossible for me to get through high school without the help of my friends in every situation,” said Hubbard Senior Madi McGowan. High school is also a very stressful time for students, but friends can help it more enjoyable, even acting as stress relievers.  Study authors from Murdoch and Griffith Universities state, “Being among peers during times of stress may offer adolescents an open, supportive, and rewarding space which may help dampen the emotional turbulence that adolescence can bring.”

Both good and bad high school friendships turn out to be highly influential. The good friends help make a student better and more successful. According to a study at the State University of New York in Binghamton, people who socialized with friends who were low-achieving in school were often either the same way or became that way after hanging out with those friends for a while. The less-than-ideal friends help teach life lessons that make these undesirable role models just as important as the good ones. “High school friends teach you right from wrong by instigating or influencing you do things that are both right and wrong,” explains Junior Audrianna Espy.  These positive and negative influences can help someone determine his or her own value system in the future.

As Lemony Snickett states in his Series of Unfortunate Events tales: “It is a lonely feeling when someone you care about becomes a stranger.” But at times, teens may need to dissolve certain friendships as they grow beyond or reject what a one time close friend represents.  So high school friends may come and go, but each person who enters another’s life leaves an impact. That impact will help young adults later in life as they form bonds and distinguish between real and “fake” friends.

Sources:

https://www.ectutoring.com/how-friends-influence-grades

https://www.newportacademy.com/resources/empowering-teens/teen-friendships/