Insider's Guide to High School

Conquering High School Friendship

Lunch room at Lewiston High School in Maine. (YJI)

EDINBURGH, United Kingdom – Being a new student at high school is an intimidating time for anyone. Trust me, I’ve done it before. But don’t worry.

Thanks to our judgmental skills as youths, we can analyze – most of the time – who a suitable ‘best friend’ might be. Sometimes, it only takes a few hours of
knowing each other. Once you find a person who has similar interests, the next phase of your life begins.

Your first high school friendship could last a week or maybe a lifetime, but it will get you through. Until you find the next ‘best friend,’ that is.
School is a weird place, however. As you move from class to class, you begin to observe the formation of certain friendship groups. These groups form due to many factors: intelligence levels, common interests or romantic attractions, among
other things. To give you an idea of which groups to look out for, I am going to inform you about the groups you are likely to come across at your new high
school:

The Sports Jocks

Particularly common in American high schools, this friendship group consists mostly of males who share an interest in sports. Usually there are different groups for each sport, like football or hockey, which will stay together in a pack and talk about – you guessed it – sports.

The Comedy Jokers

This group can consist of both males and females, who are usually very friendly. If you need cheering up or you’ve had an argument with your mate, go to these guys.
They are full of conversation, they don’t care what other people think of them, and they are always up for a good time.

The Intellectuals

The people in these groups are friendly enough, but always full of themselves.
Sometimes these people do not have very good common sense, even though they are clever in school. The members of this straight-A crew are always annoyingly good at every single subject. They can’t give you any advice on relationships or friendships, but they will talk to you never the less.

The Pretty Little Liars

Unless you feel you are part of this group, you will want to keep a safe distance away. This group is for high school girls who are popular on all forms of social media and have boys on the brain. They seem nice enough, but be careful.
These girls have mastered sarcasm by the age of two. They might seem to be friendly, but really they want you to make a fool of yourself or do their homework. The best thing to do is be pleasant, but keep away.

The Perfect Matches

If you don’t fit into any of the groups above, this group is the one you want. These people will be your lifeline during school. They usually have a fair understanding of everything going on, they do well in school, and they are reliable. They’re usually very easy to spot as they will come up to you and introduce themselves, and everyone in the class, because they want you to feel welcome.  They are just generally nice people.
Obviously every school is different. But judging from my experience, these groups pop up a lot. I hope this gives you a better understanding of what groups to look out for.
Have fun, and good luck.
Felicity Rodger is a Reporter for Youth Journalism International. Editing by Youth Journalism International Associate Editor Alan Burkholder.
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