I'm about to turn 28 years old and I am terrified. For the first time, I'm not scared about getting older, I'm scared about my friends getting older.
Women go through two friendship shifts in their lives. The first is a mini shift that takes place after high school.
You're in a new world connecting with people solely based on who you are as a person instead of who's in your science class or homeroom or sports team.
To dogs. Our best friends. Post continues below.
It's a person's first real try at forming friendships that aren't situational. Some of your friends are going to university, some of them are taking a gap year and some of them are in the workforce full-time.
It's a mini hurdle of seeing which high school friendships survive that gets you prepared for an even bigger hurdle (and second shift) awaiting you in 10 years — the friendship 'splinter era'.
The friendship splinter era takes place usually somewhere in your 20s (depending on your friendship group politics) and can last anywhere until your 40s.