Many students fear what will happen after their senior year of high school. Leaving for college means living in a distant town, and college freshmen are forced to make new friends. However, younger students can suffer after seniors graduate as well.
Having older friends can be hard for students, especially when these friends leave for college. One clear example of this dynamic is in sports, where younger students normally play with and look up to their older teammates.
Senior Izzy Steele has played on PV’s girls golf team since her freshman year, and she has developed many bonds with her teammates. “Some of my closest friends have been my teammates who are all one or two years older than me,” explained Steele.
Not only do these older teammates have a positive impact due to their experience and helpful advice, but they also are great friends for many athletes. “It was really heartbreaking when Muara left last year; we were really close after three years on the team together,” continued Steele.
Having older friends in high school is common even outside of sports, and seniors leaving for college can be hard for all kinds of people. “I’m worried about next year because I feel like I’ll need to make new friends at school just because so many of my friends are leaving,” expressed junior Erin O’brien.
Although being far away from friends is never fun, having older friends can actually be helpful for many highschoolers.
With age comes experience, and many older students are willing to help out their friends by guiding them through high school and the transition to college. “I keep in touch with a lot of my senior friends, and I’ve had some ask me for advice about applying for college or about my engineering major,” explained Iowa State freshman Tanish Chauhan.
Transitioning away from seeing friends almost everyday at school to only a few days a year can be hard. Luckily, moving away doesn’t necessarily end anyone’s relationship and there are many ways to remain in contact with different aged-friends.
Senior Cassie Paustian has continued to date her boyfriend, a freshman in college, this year. “There are so many ways for us to talk to each other whenever we want with social media and facetime, it’s really about learning how to communicate without being face to face,” said Paustian.
When seniors leave for college, younger students are often devastated after losing their older friends that they made in high school. Although it is a big change for many students, people can continue these relationships even from a long distance.
