Over the last three years, I have lived at three different schools in two countries. This has allowed me to form many different friendships and learn how differently people interact with one another.
After finishing primary school in Zurich, I spent four years at a grammar school in Cologne. Since last summer, I have been attending a boarding school on Lake Constance. It's quite an international environment; my classmates come from places such as Brazil, Sweden, Russia and Austria.
I feel very much at home here and have made friends quickly. But I do make a distinction between «friends» and «best friends». Really good friendships take time to develop. I have three best friends – one in Cologne and two in Zurich. I've known my friends in Zurich since primary school.
What makes a good friendship for me? It's when you don't have to be in touch every day, but that sense of connection is still there straight away when you see each other. And that you're honest with each other and can trust one another. I also tell my best friend much more than I do my school friends.
Rather than wait ages for a reply from my parents, I'd rather give them a call.
I send audio messages and Reels from TikTok or Instagram back and forth with my best friends. Sometimes Snaps too. But actually, I prefer WhatsApp. I only have Snapchat because so many people use it. When I message my friends in Zurich, I always use the local dialect. Because Swiss German is what I miss most here.
Generally speaking, I mainly send voice messages and hardly ever make phone calls. Although – that's not entirely true. In the evenings, I sometimes have a chat on the phone with my best friends. And with my parents, of course . They're not very quick to reply and are quite slow at texting. Rather than waiting ages for a reply, I prefer to give them a call.
My mobile phone is also important for keeping in touch with friends here at boarding school. I would never just pop into someone's room; I always send a quick message first.
Another thing I've learnt is that long-distance friendships have their advantages. Because you appreciate the person so much more when you actually see them. The time you spend together then feels somehow more intense.
And I know from my own experience how friendships change and what it means to keep in touch with people. Every time I've moved house, I've realised who really cares about me – and, of course, vice versa. Your circle of friends sorts itself out, so to speak. You can then focus on the people who really matter to you.
