Friendships are fickle things. They ebb and flow; they can be steadfast or ever changing. One of the biggest things I’ve learned in my first year as a high school student is that your friends are important; however, you have to listen to your own feelings as well. In less than a year, I have learned that the social aspect is a very large part of high school and people think that the more friends they have, the better they’re known, and the happier they will be. But, that’s not necessarily true.

It’s more important to have a few friends than having a lot of people you kind of know. People that always make you feel good about yourself and that you look forward to seeing every day; they should be the important people in your life. Now I know that if I ever again find myself in an unhealthy friendship that just isn’t working, it’s okay to end that friendship. Maybe there will be a few fewer friends in the end, but when one door closes, another is bound to open.

I have learned this year that keeping my group of friends small allows me to turn my attention and my efforts to bettering the friendships that mean everything to me and working on being a better friend to the people that make my life great. I have also learned that sometimes friendships end so that you can meet new people, expand the range of people you talk to, and start new relationships that never would have been an option before.

Learning this has been, and continues to be, a hard journey for me; however, I trust that in the end, something good will come of it. And maybe something already has. Leaving a friendship can be tough but it can also be so worth it.