Reasons not to merge your school and university social circles

As much as I dislike the concept of divisions, I've a list of things that I think need to be divided- school and university friends are definitely on top.

University does a lot to you. Academically speaking, it pushes and challenges you to certain extents that often leave you super stressed out and overall done with life. These hardships, however, are nothing compared to that of balancing your social life between your oldies and newbies. Now the simplest answer for you would naturally be to merge the two groups of friends together and pray that they get along. Problem solved, right? Wrong. Here are a few reasons why:

Chaotic atmosphere: Your school and university friends hanging out together is like a crossover episode — it's interesting at first but then gets plain chaotic. I don't know whether it's just me but there's the sense of just too much going on at one time and place which bothers me in these situations. I would much rather meet them in groups and know more about their lives than be swamped with shallow conversations which just brush through the surface, which is often the case in these mixed gatherings.

You lose your escape: It's only natural at times to be tired of university or school aspects of your life and here's when the two being merged becomes problematic. If things start looking down in university, you no longer have the opportunity to let yourself be engulfed by your school friends and vice versa, which is a result of the aforementioned merge. Moreover, it's not really the same anymore and hence you lose your source of your otherwise much needed escape.

Sometimes the two don't click: There's always the possibility of them not getting along with each other. Moreover, it's worse when conversations become unrelatable to one side of the group. For instance your school friends may keep bringing up school references and the others may feel left out. As silly as this sounds, keeping the balance and giving out equal amounts of attention to both sides become difficult to maintain. I for one, would prefer not being put in such situations.

They get along too well: The only thing worse than them not getting along, is them getting along. These newfound friendships may seem convenient to you at first but then the unexpected consequences come to light. They start getting access to all aspects of your life, which include embarrassing photos and stories which you would've rather preferred being kept in the dark. This is much like your friends adding up your family on facebook, only a thousand times worse.

Now, despite of all the points I have listed out thus far, I have however merely highlighted the negatives so don't be too quick to judge. There are obviously several upsides including like saving the time and money otherwise invested in separate hangouts, not having to ditch one plan for another and most importantly, not having your two groups of friends despise one another. However, it all comes down to preferences so take your pick.

Veronica Gomes is a devout Coldplayer and Sherlockian who is convinced her dog has secret pet parties at her place when she's not around. Email her at gomesveronica1997@gmail.com