When I started college, I expected to make a lot more friends than I did. Don't get me wrong - I love the friends I have here. It's just not what I was expecting. Especially with all of the stereotypes that go along with "The College Experience." You're supposed to meet the friends you'll have for the rest of your life and, in effect, never really talk to the friends you had in high school. For me, the opposite happened.

I have a handful of good friends here at college. I love them to death and they help me through some really tough times. But I also have more friends scattered around the state, going to different colleges or setting up their lives. Those are the friends I made in high school and - guess what - we're still as close as ever.

20 years ago, this would be a rare thing to hear. But, thanks to Facebook, texting, Skype, and good old phone calls, I talk to nearly all of the friends that I had during the four years I spent behind bars in high school. We also get together during every break and try to visit each other during our crazy college semesters when we have the time.

My parents think it's the oddest thing. They rarely talked to anyone from their high school years when they went off to college. And even now, my brother, a freshman in college, is going through the same thing that they did even with the technology he has at his disposal. That leaves me to wonder - is it really technology that keeps us together or am I just some rare case in a sea of forgotten high school relationships?

I like to think it's a mixture of both. I use technology regularly to talk to my friends but maybe that's not what's really keeping us together. In fact, I hope it's not. I think I got very lucky and formed the bonds I was "supposed" to make in college while I was going through puberty. Keeping those bonds is continually aided by 21st century technology. Without it, I would lose out on these everlasting friendships that range anywhere from six to fifteen years.

Did I know I was making friends for life in high school? No. But I hoped we would all stay in touch when college started. And then we did. Now, I can't ever imagine my life without any of them.

I think the moral of this post is thus: Don't give up on friends. Whether it be childhood, high school, college, or work friends, give each of them a chance to be in your life. We have the technology today to make that stuff happen. If they're not meant to be there, then at least you can say that you tried.