Conversing through the world of high school relationships leaves many students with similar friendships and social cliques throughout their four years. Consider your last passing period or lunch break; you have probably discovered the large and diverse campus surrounding our everyday learning environment. Instead of reaching out to our diverse student body, the vast majority choose to stay in the personal social groups that they are accustomed to for either familiarity or common interest reasons. As high school students, our identities are typically formed and crafted from the people we converse with daily, often resulting in limited perspectives and further division of cliques. To combat the ongoing divide, we must reach out to new people regardless of background and preconceived notions to become an overall interconnected community.

Why is diversity important in high school friendships?

Diversifying relations with other high schoolers is hugely beneficial in removing preconceived opinions based on generalizations. According to a study by Pettigrew, “across 515 different studies found that the more contact people have with others outside their racial group, the less prejudiced they were.” [1] Whether it is race, gender, religion, or any other different trait between us students, establishing a delicate balance of friendships between cultures during high school is a great way to set yourself in the right direction in the workplace.

How should we reach out to new people of various backgrounds?

Two vital aspects of diversifying friendships should be addressed: being open-minded and authentic to yourself. To be more specific, you should not have to show a fantasized version of yourself, but instead, be open to talking to others and let your true personality radiate outwards. Both of these principles ensure that you grow and keep a positive attitude.

In terms of finding and discovering new faces, joining various clubs, sports, and extracurricular activities can expand your horizons. For example, joining culture-specific dance teams can help avoid stereotypes and engage in a distinct choreographic form. 

Attending many school events can also help find various faces, especially as an underclassman. Frequently, no “specific group of people” attends school-wide events, which helps with unfiltered social building opportunities. With the added benefit of being an underclassman,  there is also a sense of unfamiliarity as new friendships are constantly forming. All-inclusive, attending school-wide events is still a great way to meet many new people of various cultures and backgrounds.

As the school year wraps up for the next, it is essential that there can be a seamless transition with the addition of new students and the graduation of the old. Activities like a mandatory compliment or “say hi” day may boost early-school-year interactions. There should not be any judgment for reaching out to fellow students and building new relations on these days.

How should you approach long-term relationships with the advent of rivaling opinions?

Meeting new individuals is not the only aspect of befriending those of distinct backgrounds. Especially during the teenage years, we often have radical opinions based on our home lives and situations. As a result, friendships formed by those with different views often are prone to disagreements and arguments. Although a person may feel inclined to change their thinking to prevent these, it is more beneficial to appreciate where they are coming from, possibly even defending them from potential antagonistic threats. Living in one of the most diverse countries in the world, we have to reach out early and foster a unified, culture-rich society for the future.

[1] https://www.verywellmind.com/why-it-s-important-to-diversify-your-friendships-5072980