What Middle School Girls Should Know about Friendship

(The full article + a printable)

Hi friends! This post got a lot of traction on Instagram recently, so I wanted to share the full message as an article + a printable for the new school year. Thanks for following along!!!

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A woman in teen ministry once shared with me a term that describes the state of female friendships in the middle school years.

Fluid.

In other words, friendships can change a lot in this stage of life. They may ebb and flow as everyone makes new friends, explores new friendships, and sometimes grows apart.

The growing apart may not be intentional; it’s often a matter of not having classes together or the same extra-curricular activities.

We typically become close with the people we see the most, and as teenagers evolve in their passions, personalities, and circumstances, their relationships evolve too.

This is a tricky thing to navigate for girls and their moms. While I’ve been really proud of the friend choices my daughters have made – and I feel certain that many friends, including old friends from elementary school, will be friends for life – it’s hard to see an old friendship slip away and wonder what ever happened to that cute girl you used to see all the time.

Why don’t you have Isabella over anymore? I don’t hear much about her – is everything okay? The response is often something like, “Yeah, I love Isabella, I just never see her.”

Nothing specific happened; it’s just that life is busy, and there isn’t enough time in the day to spend time with everyone you like.

Sometimes girls drift apart for a reason. Sometimes a falling out triggers sudden mistrust.

A girl who your daughter thought was a friend (in my book I call them 50/50 friends) does something hurtful or mean. Or a group of girls may gang up on one girl because she made the leader mad. The scenarios are endless, and the lesson to be learned is that girls sometimes must learn the hard way what true friendship looks like.

The overriding point is, friendships change. Friendships get put to the test, and only time will tell what the final shake-out will be.

So what’s the solution? I don’t have that, but I do have some thoughts to share with your daughter if she feels insecure or worried about friendship fluctuations:

1. It’s normal for friendships to evolve and change. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. It simply means you’re growing up.

2. Everything will be okay. In time your friendships will solidify, and you’ll know more clearly who is good for you and meant to be in your life. Be patient, pray for good friends, and pray to be a good friend. Remember that true friends are worth the wait.