BoldlyU Magazine Issue 2 | Page 30

ST RICT LY T WEENS ST RICT LY T WEENS OVER COMER STORY FRIENDSHIPS CHANGE I think it’s strange that some loose friendships can later end up as your closest friends, and some tight bonds can break in an instant. I believe that the word ‘friend’ is taken too gently and its meaning is being forgotten. I used to just call any classmate or everybody that I didn’t dislike a friend, but now that word means so much more to me. One of the biggest changes was probably switching from public school to homeschool. It’s not very easy to make friends in homeschool because my only two classmates are my older brother and my younger sister. Being homeschooled also means that I don’t get to meet with kids my age very often so it becomes harder to create friendships and to socialize. I experienced friendships changing when I moved into 6th grade, some of my elementary school friends either moved away or went to a different school than me, but there are some friendships that I feel could never be broken A while ago I also had my closest friend Shianne move to Georgia, and we haven’t seen each other in about four years now. Through all of these changes she still remains one of my best friends. We still send each other letters in the mail, FaceTime, and talk to each other about our problems as good friends do. Your best friends are the ones who stick with you through the toughest challenges. I stuck with her for a huge challenge, before she moved she was in a parade and she got run over; I thought she was dead. However, she came out without a single broken bone or scratch. I was there with her encouraging her and FaceTiming her every night with a goal of making her smile. Despite how far apart we are we have high hopes of being reunited. Friends are hard to make but even harder to keep. Unfortunately not everybody gets lucky enough to find the perfect friend that will stick with you through anything. I feel as though we all tend to forget that friendships are double-sided. We all have bad stories of friends ditching us or choosing somebody over us. I, as well as many others, tend to forget that we might be doing the same thing to somebody else. I encourage you to compliment your friends and to build up their self-confidence, try to be a good friend. You never know when somebody needed those words or when you could have been the highlight of their day. Remember to spread compliments, be friendly, and just do your best to make middle school a little more cheerful. 30 October 2016 Sarah, 13 So many kids say that they have trouble making friends. I don’t think that I have ever really had that problem. I am not a shy guy! I really like to meet people, especially new kids at school. However, I do have different groups of friends. Sometimes that can be very difficult. One group of friends are the ones who play all of the sports—The Athletes. I do play basketball, but at times these athlete friends don’t really seem like friends because I may not be as good as them. Sure, playing a game is about winning, but it should be about having fun too. My other sets of friends are my “gaming” friends. All kids (and some adults) have gaming friends. Most of these guys I only talk to during the time I am playing my XBOX. Some I talk to at school too, but they don’t really like all my athletic friends. My athletic friends don’t play XBOX with me much because they may not like or know my gaming friends. I WANT EVERYONE TO BE HAPPY This can get difficult. I want everyone to be happy. What I don’t like is when someone from one group says something bad about one from the other group. Don’t get me wrong, I know I say things too, but then realize that may not have bee n a good choice. I try to apologize. It all comes down to something all of us are dealing with today…..MIDDLE SCHOOL DRAMA! It’s just stupid. I know both sets of my friends probably say things about me, but guess what…. If someone makes fun of me, I just move on. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. DON’T BE SOMEONE YOU ARE NOT, JUST When it comes to friends, we are all going to have friends that we have for a lifetime and then those that are only there for a short time. That’s just the way it is. Don’t be someone you are not, just to make a friend. You have to be yourself and that is when you will find your best friends. TO MAKE A FRIEND Quintan, 13 31