A teen’s relationships with friends and boyfriends or girlfriends are some of the most important things. They are the people that you hang out with, vent with, laugh with, get furious at and then make up with. You have shared some of your strongest emotions with these people and have incredible bonds with them like none other you have ever had in your life.

When you graduate from high school, everything changes. You all know it and know it is coming but mostly you are so busy finishing school and doing teen stuff that you don’t really do much about it. But you think about it. A lot. It is especially difficult if you know that you and your friends or significant others will be going to colleges far away from each other in the Fall which is very common. But it can also be as difficult if you are going to the same colleges are even planning to hang around and get jobs. This is because you will never again be able to spend so many hours of the day in such close contact with your friends, developing in-jokes and knowing what everyone is up to all the time. You will most likely grow apart, either physically or emotionally or both.

So what to do, then about these friends and significant others? This really depends upon your own personality and there are many ways to handle things. In general, some ways work better than others. Some teens just decide to let what is going to happen �Ehappen. They graduate, do summer stuff and then move on. They are aware things are going to change, but don’t really worry too much about it. This works for people who are pretty laid back and flexible. If you tend to be more of a planner, this could end up being very stressful once things do start changing. In this case, you probably would rather take some action before things do start to change. Some teens decide to break up with the friends and boyfriends in anticipation of the changes and decide to take control before the change takes control of them. This works for people who are very independent and make new friends easily. Other teens make elaborate plans on how to stay in contact with friends. There are many ways for us to communicate with each other these days �Ephones, texting, MySpace, IM’ing and of course visits. This works for teens who are realistic about how things will work �Ehow much real time and money they will have to spend on keeping in contact and the fact that while separated people will make news friends even if they are keeping contact with old friends.

Graduation will change everything and how it changes your relationships depends upon many things. The only sure fact is that they will change. Change can be hard. You may feel depressed, angry, frustrated, abandoned and alone. Be sure to have someone in your life to talk to about these feelings because often teens will get depressed even more because the are separated from the people who helped them through these feelings before �Etheir friends. If this is the case, make sure to find a trusted adult that you can talk to such as a counselor, teacher, coach, or relative.

And remember, change can also be exciting. Even though your relationships with your high school friends will change, you will have so many new opportunities to make friends. Be sure to take advantage of them.