Teen Talk | Friendships

T E E N T A L K

by Kayla Holmes

F I N D I N G F R I E N D S

Your friends are more important than you think, you may wonder how to get the right friend. How to know if they are bad for you. Maybe you think you have the best friend group ever. You better hope you do because as you get older, the truth comes out about those friends. My advice to you is to think about your friends as you read this article.

To all the 6th graders out there, friends are important. You may or may not believe me when I say this but, your best friend from first grade probably won’t stay your best friend. Take it from me, an 8th-grader, your friends matter. As you get older you rely on and trust your friends a lot more than you did in Kindergarten. They influence you, you influence them, and you grow together. Throughout your life there will be those friends who are fake, emotional, and crazy,

Sometimes you’ll feel tired of their drama, tired of helping them get back up after their fifth breakup that month. In the end, they are fake. If they go to you for advice or maybe they need to talk with you about something that just happened in their family that’s means you can be trusted and you're the real deal. Find a friend who is real, too. My advice to all you sixth graders is to find a real friend before high school, in high school you’ll need him or her to keep you on track.

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To all the seventh graders. 7thgrade friends matters more than you think, you were in 6th grade last year and saw the difference between elementary school and middle school. Your friend might have moved on from you, and it’s not your fault. Unless you were making fun of them or bullying them it’s another reason. There will be friends like that throughout your whole entire life! You need to be able to stop and say, “What went wrong? What about them is a red flag to me, and how can I avoid people like that in the future?” Don’t pout, don't cry over someone who left you. My advice to you 7th-graders is to be the person who is a real friend and to influence others to be their best.

To all the 8th-graders going to high school, I am you. I am an 8thgrader. I know some students in 8th-grade who struggle with all kinds of problems, depression,

There is no if, and, or, but about it, they WILL. When they talk to you, you should be able to see their desire to talk to you. You may say, “Well I can’t tell if they are faking it.” Guess what, if they are faking being friends with you, ask yourself, “Why? Why would this person go out of their way to support, listen and care about me only to not care, not listen, and not support?” It doesn’t make any sense does it! These are the friends you need for high school, there will be jerks, there will be kids who fall off track, maybe you already have.

The key to surviving is a friend. They are essential to your future and if you have the wrong friend group my advice to you is to find better friends. Find those people who want good things for you.

My final advice for 6th, 7th and 8thgraders is to live in the moment. Enjoy being 12, 13, 14, and even those 15-year-old kids in 8th-grade-get out with friends, get into some sports,

T R U E F R I E N D S

influence, drugs, family problems. It’ll only get worse, and the only way to make it better is to rely on your friends. Friends are there to support and brighten your life. If they are your friend they will listen, they will care, they will act.

talk to new people, take pictures, be a middle-schooler! Don’t try to act older than you are, if you are in 8th grade be the one to play with Legos at school, make funny videos, just be you!

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