What wakes you up everyday and keeps you moving? For the overwhelming majority of teenagers, it’s friendships. So, what makes a good friend, and what value do we place on the bonds we have formed throughout high school?

The end of Year 11 usually means the end of many friendships as students matriculate into new institutions for further education. For the majority of us, we have formed friendships over the past five years. Now, as the reality of the new journey upon which we are about to embark draws near, we must now ponder, “How do we maintain the friendships we’ve formed as our closest friendship groups disband, and friends disperse to their new college adventures? Do we want to maintain these friendships or start anew? Essentially, will our friendships last?

In forming friendships, we often pursue or, perhaps more accurately, fortuitously gravitate towards those who possess the characteristics we admire. One Year 11 student, Mariska, believes that a good friend is “honest, loyal, and trustworthy,” and those who have remained her friends the longest possess these traits. Conceivably then, friendships with mutually desired traits can withstand the inevitable shift in circumstances over the next few months.

Yet another poignant issue to be examined is how relationships are maintained. Friendships require commitment because “if you both put the effort in, the friendship can work,” Mariska explicates. At age 15, her longest friendship has been “probably ten years.” Spanning two thirds of her lifetime, this is undoubtedly significant. Quite likely, therefore, a mutual thrust towards nurturing is a key ingredient to lasting friendships.

Another Year11 student, Ashanti, suggests that friendships thrive when people “find a common middle ground.” Still, she accepts that some of her friendships will last while others will fade after leaving high school.

Unfortunately, as life moves on, so do friendships. Mariska “expect[s] to maintain [only] some friendships, particularly with [her] close circle of friends.”

Notwithstanding, perhaps all friendships do not need to last, and surely not all will. As Ashanti concedes, for longevity in relationships, “Maybe they [friends] have to match your energy.” In any event, most teenagers will agree that friendships are crucial to their existence. Approaching the end of school, they are compelled to grapple with the notion of losing friends, but they envisage the friends they value most will remain long after parting ways in high school. Who knows!