What is this key to life? There are many opinions about this but there is one underlying fact that is held true by everyone: no one can survive on his own. We all rely on people who support us whether we realize it or not. I believe friendship is the key to life because this relationship consists of a network of people who love you the way you are and assist you in any way they can. Although it sounds cheesy, I believe friendship is taken for granted by everyone since we witness this relationship every day. Entering the school, we are greeted by the smiling face of Jim the security guard and the guidance counselors. As you walk to your locker, you feel surrounded by your brothers for life when they say those two words “Good Morning.” We should all be grateful to attend this school because of the wonderful friendships created with faculty, staff, and fellow students.

A time in my life where I experienced true friendship was here at The Prep. I attended this school as a freshman without knowing anyone since no one followed me from my middle school. My initial thoughts were that I was going to be lonely for the rest of life and I would not have any friends. This irrational thinking was disproved my first day as a freshman. A group of friends invited me to their lunch table and we developed a friendship over our high school years, caring and supporting each other. This school is the first place where I sincerely said “I love you” to a person outside of my biological family. I have learned a lot from my friends including new hobbies and skills I would have never learned in a million years. For instance, I learned how to tie a special kind of knot, which I would never have used in my school project without the help of my Eagle Scout friend. I believe this is the best part of friendships – everyone has a unique talent that other people can learn from.

Not only emotionally but my friends have supported me academically as well. Due to my system of friends, whenever I am sick or have to miss school, they always text me the assignments that I miss as well as upcoming assessments. This allows me to catch up fast so that my absence from school does not affect my performance. Also, assembling a productive study group with several friends will assist you with higher grades since you will be exposed to the material in different ways. This study group could come together, quiz each other, and compare notes to see if something is missing. For example, I use to constantly study by myself in the past by continuously reading my own notes. As a result, I was not receiving the grades I anticipated since I was only exposed to my notes. However, studying with a group of friends allowed me to see the notes in other forms in which I contrasted to my own notes. As a bonus, I scored better on assessments and spent less time studying.

I want to emphasize that friendship is the key to life because no one can go through their life alone and the feeling of knowing that someone is there to always support you is irreplaceable. Some individuals may have difficulty with finding friends but there are many activities both at SHP and outside of school in which relationships can be made. No matter how you find your friends, they will always be there for you and assist you in your life.