Seniors help each with self-improvement through long-term friendship

For seniors Logan Pfiester, Katie Schwartzkopf, and Sydney Wootton, their friendship has spanned the vast majority of their educational careers. With a friendship that began in the third grade, the girls have watched each other grow as individuals, helped each other through tough times and brought their families closer together. 

According to Schwartzkopf, each girl brings something different to the group.

“I feel like we have different group dynamics, like Sydney and Logan actually harass each other,” Schwartzkopf said. “They like to joke a lot and make fun of me and tease each other, and then I’m the sentimental one.”

Although they tease her, Schwartzkopf knows that both of her friends care for her and help her improve her self-confidence. 

“I struggle with constantly needing validation from people, and I think this friendship has taught me that I don’t need that,” Schwarzkopf said. “[Pfiester and Wootton] just love me for me.”

Similar to Schwartzkopf, Wootton finds that her friends are good influences that help guide her in life.

“Logan is very social,” Wootton said. “She’s very good at talking to people. I observe how she does that, and I try to put it into myself and do the same things that she does to try and talk to people. For Katie, she’s just so nice to everyone. So I just observe Katie and try to use her actions and think of what she would do in certain situations.”

College can often be daunting for friendships, but even though the three are splitting up for college, with Pfiester, Schwartzkopf and Wootton going to the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Colorado State University, respectively, Pfiester believes they will remain close.

“Honestly, I think being apart will just make it more special when we see each other again on breaks and stuff,” Pfiester said. We’ll  still talk to each other, but I’m obviously sad we won’t see each other every day.” 

Similarly, Wootton believes that because the girls’ families are close, the friends will remain tight-knit despite separating.

“I think we’ll still see each other a lot because our moms are best friends,” Wootton said. “Our families hang out all the time, so we’ll see each other on breaks.”

When it comes to her friendships, Pfiester is grateful for having close friends like Schwartzkopf and Wootton and believes that having a smaller group of friends is beneficial.

“I think it’s important to recognize the good people in your life and invest your time and energy into them, because then you’re happy,” Pfiester said. “They’ll help you get through the hard problems. You don’t need a bunch of friends. I would say it helps have one or two great friends.”

Schwartzkopf believes that despite how close she is to her friends, it is important to remind them that she cares.

“I think sometimes with my best friends, I’ll get complacent and be like, ‘Oh, I don’t need to remind them how much I care about them,’” Schwartzkopf said. “But those are people you need to remind the most.”