Maintaining friendships after graduation
Children look forward to graduation for a long time. Many of them are excited to move onto college or other adventures that await them in adulthood; however there is always the looming fear that they will lose some of their friendships. Maintaining friendships after graduation isn't always easy, it's going to take a lot of time and effort. The reason why you will lose some of your friendships is because you are no longer in the same hallways anymore, you could be living in different states and email and text messages are the only way to keep in touch. This article will provide you with a simple guide to help you maintain friendships after graduation.
The most important thing you can do is stay in touch with your friends. Don't let them fall off your radar, send emails, text messages, voice mails, and make sure to get together for lunches or events. In high school, you had the option to see them on a daily basis so it was easy to keep in touch. Now you have to make a serious effort to keep your friendships. Since you are having different experiences from some of your friends, make an effort to share this with them and find a way to involve them in it. Invite them to some of your college parties or work parties. If you don't keep them involved in your "new life" you will find out that you and your friends will eventually go in opposite directions and the only conversation you have will be a once-a-year catch-up. Try to keep your conversations with your friends meaningful instead of as a catch-up session. Superficial friendships are built on catch-up sessions and these friendships never last long.
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When it comes to maintaining friendships, you need to be honest with yourself. Sure you may have had 10 people that you hung out with, but you need to determine which ones you can see yourself being friends with in one year, five years, and even twenty years from now. It may be hard to realize that you will lose some of your best friends, but it is a part of life. You can't share every single experience with them. Instead pick the friends that have some of the same goals you have like graduating from college, getting married, starting families, etc.
As you go through these big milestones together, you can build a meaningful friendship with this person. Going through big life changes together will help the two of you draw closer together, in turn giving you a long-lasting friendship. During this time, keep yourself open to new friendships. Even if you are shy, life after high school is all about making new friendships. Stay open to new friends as they can truly enrich your life.
It's time to face that fact that you are not 17 anymore and some of these friendships just aren't going to happen anymore. Even if you are friends with them on Facebook and MySpace, it won't change the fact that you don't see them in the halls everyday. Rank your friendships so you know which friends you expect to see for many years and which friends are going to be casual acquaintances. Be careful not to get trapped in a double world where part of you longs to be in high school while the rest of you realizes the next adventure in life.
Even though it's hard, leave your past friendships in the past and move forward. If you want to keep all your friendships together, you will need to take on the responsibility of being a party planner. It will be your job to get all your old pals together a few times a year or at least once a month to share new experiences and build on your existing friendships.
