While navigating through elementary, middle and high school, one learns a lot of things besides the year Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue. We all had a friend who was the best soccer player, or the one who was always in charge of dress-up, or the kid who seemed to know everything about dinosaurs. Still, we didn’t make it to college without learning some of these helpful life lessons from our childhood friends that still hold true today.
1. Rock, paper, scissors solves all: From deciding who is going to be line leader to who is going to be the designated driver that night, this game is a simple way to determine once and for all the lucky, or unlucky, chosen ones. Rock, paper, scissors is still a valid way to make a decision because it reminds us to fight for what you want, and that with a little skill and a fair amount of luck, anyone can overcome the odds and be a winner.
2. Sleepovers rule: Growing up, and possibly still today, sleepovers with your best friend ranked high on the list along with Saturday morning TV, the ice cream truck and recess. You were allowed to stay up late, or maybe not sleep at all, and got to know a person well from having deep, late night conversations with them. Sleepovers are the epitome of childhood friendships. The memories created keep friendships alive for years and teach us what being a friend is all about.
3. Sharing is caring: It’s lunchtime and you realize that your mom has packed you the ultimate prize: a fruit roll-up. You are about to devour this delicious and fun-to-eat snack when your friend asks for a piece. The simple act of sharing has caused many conflicts throughout all of our childhoods because it is not always as easy as adults try to make it seem. Sacrificing your material objects to make someone else happy is hard to learn, but now in our wise college years, we have realized it is worth it for a friend.
4. “Two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate?”: Repeated after soccer, basketball or any other sports game, this mantra may have been something you once mindlessly chanted. We all had those friends who seemed to be the next Tom Brady or Mia Hamm, who are now stars of their own college teams, while the rest of us made circles in the dirt. But no matter whether you were the superstar or the last one picked, being on some kind of athletic team taught the values of being a team player and having a good attitude, whether it was a win or loss.