How to Stay In Touch With Mates After High School

Why is it that so many people seem to make their best mates while they’re in high school? One of the big reasons is that you just spend so much time together. If you’ve got a solid group of friends, you could pretty much be spending more than six hours a day hanging out, going to class and catching the bus home.

It’s no wonder that people can feel a bit nervous about high school wrapping up. Usually everyone kind of goes their separate ways. Some of your mates might do a gap year, while others go to a different uni or take a different course.

The good news is that just because you’re not spending as much time together doesn’t mean you won’t ever get to hang out again. Here are some ways to keep those connections alive:

Try some new stuff with the group chat

Some group chats are going off 24/7, while some you might only hit up now and again, and that’s okay! A big barrier to keeping a group chat alive is the idea of sitting down and having to type out huge paragraphs based on what you’ve been up to - but there’s another way to keep your mates in the loop.

If you’re ever out on a lil’ mental health walk or you have some time up your sleeve, why not try out a voice memo? It’s like recording a mini-podcast about what you’ve been up to that your mates can listen to whenever they’ve got a few mins to spare.

Hang out with your mates individually

The older you get, the harder it can be to get everyone in the same room at the same time. Always send an invite out, but definitely get used to the idea of pressing on with an event if a couple of people can’t make it.

There’s no use in throwing out the whole plans if someone’s flaking out a little. Honestly, it’s also easier to do things like grab tables at cafes or go on holidays together when it’s only a couple of you instead of a huge group.

Build in some traditions and routines

This one is really good when you’ve got really busy mates. As the commitments pile up, it gets harder to organise spur-of-the-moment hang outs. The trick here is to set up something regular that people can put in their schedules. It could be getting together once a month or every few months, but everyone knows what’s happening well in advance.

Find an activity to all do together

One of the best things our friend group did when we left school was do a social soccer team. Usually Saturday mornings are pretty free for just about everyone, and if you were tired (or a little dusty) it wasn’t too big of a deal because we were there just to have fun.

It doesn’t have to be sports either - a good trivia night at your local club will do just as well, or even a class on something if you’re all keen.

Compared to just a hangout, there’s a bit of extra accountability that comes with a class or a team that keeps people from flaking out.

Be okay with the group ebbing and flowing a little

It can be a bit tough when you see your mates hanging out with other people while your group chat is leaving you on read, but the truth is that adult friendships usually have stretches where you might not hang out as often, and then suddenly you’ll get together and it’ll be just like old times.

It also gives you the opportunity to make some new friends of your own at work or at uni. You might find a new group of people who are into some of the things your old group aren’t, or maybe even make new mates you can introduce to your old ones.

At the end of the day, all I’m trying to say is that just because you don’t spend all day every day together doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye forever. With a little bit of time invested, you’ll still have plenty of memories to make with all your high school friends for years to come.