My older sister still hangs out with her entire high school group. They toughed it out and got together whenever they could during college, and now that everyone is older with their own careers, they still do hangouts, the big and small moments, everything.

It was something I saw her have as I was growing up, and I idealized it for myself, too. My group of friends started since middle school, and grew to a rather sizeable group in high school. I wasn't close with everyone there, maybe a lot of times I was the wallflower of a group I helped start, but we were all friendly enough.

Real life happens, people move away and grow apart. Friendships fall through, people disconnect for their own reasons. It hurts, and it's rather lonely. My first friend from middle school is basically the main contact I have left that I still talk to on a regular basis, and honestly that's enough for me. Having few meaningful connections is way better than having a lot of 'friends' or acquaintances that I never really got close to.

And in the end, I hang out with my sister and her friends a lot now, so uhh... I guess they just became my friends, too!