Lean On Me: Why Your Childhood Best Friends Are Your Lifelong Friends

Childhood friends: Everyone has them, but not everyone has kept them over the years.

These are the people you sat next to in second grade and bonded with over your love of puppies and Capri Sun. Childhood friends are the people who mold you into the person you grow to become.

I am lucky enough to still be best friends with four of the girls I grew up with. They are some of the greatest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and I am so thankful to have them. They remind me of who I am when I’ve lost sight of my own identity, and always bring me back to a healthy mindset.

For those of you who are lucky enough to still have the friends you grew up with, be grateful to have them.

Here are a few reasons why childhood friends are so important.

They know exactly where you come from and what you’ve been through.

As we get older and meet new people from different aspects of our lives, we feel the need to explain our family situations and home life to them. With old friends, there is never a need to explain anything because they lived it right alongside you. These friends are considered family.

My friends all have keys to my house in case they want to come and hangout if I’m not there, or if I’m just too lazy to get the door for them. They are beyond comfortable in my house and around every member of my family.

Friends you grew up with know all the vacations you’ve been on, the embarrassing crushes you’ve had and the hard times you’ve been through.

There is never a need to fill them in on your life at home or explain a complicated situation because odds are, they text you about it constantly and always want to remain updated on your life.

They’ve seen you at your worst and still love you endlessly.

With newer friends, we tend to keep things pretty emotionally leveled, at least for a while. Old friends have watched you have hissy fits throughout your youth and meltdowns through your teenage years. They saw you cry because your mom wouldn’t buy you that shirt from Limited Too and held you as you cried when that boy didn’t like you back.

There is never a need to hold back with these friends because they have already seen it. You know they will never judge you or leave your side. They know the hideous face you make when you cry or the ridiculous shade of red you turn when you’re embarrassed.

They just get you, and that is so important to have in your life, not to mention incredibly rare.

They’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly and stuck by you through it all. True friends will do that for you.

You have the most memories with them.

The amount of pictures you have with these people is absurd. Everything was always documented, either on a hot pink Razr phone or a throwaway camera; every precious moment you spent together was captured.

From the music videos you made together, to the green, pore-cleansing facemasks you wore as preteens, these memories are truly priceless.

You never run out of things to talk about with these friends because there is always another story to reminisce on, and another detail to laugh over. The good times you’ve had with these friends are unending.

They made you who you are today.

Your friends from your childhood are people who knew you in every stage of your life. They know all the weird phases you went through and every stupid fight you’ve had with your parents.

They watched you transform from a little kid to a real person in today's society. You guys grew up together and were friends before you even had a sense of who you were.

You molded each other into the people you are today. They are more than accessories to your life, they are a part of you. You are similar in so many ways because you were raised so closely to each other. They are more than people who you shared a childhood with, they are people who you will continue to share your life with.

Having childhood friends to date speaks volumes about the kind of person you are.

Being able to maintain relationships for so many years is a fantastic accomplishment. It means you were able to work through every problem you've ever had with them and pick each other up when you fell, no matter how many times it happened.

These are the people who will always know where you came from. They will always humble you and remind you how great you are. These are the people that you will walk through life with.

Childhood friends are so important in life. They will bring you down to earth in the toughest of times and remind you of their unconditional love during your times of need. Childhood friends will always come first because they know you, love you and will want to help you under any conditions.

They are the people you can always lean on, and that in of itself is true love.