[deadmansshoes]

"You slowly replace your friends with "better" ones"..."will make you more of who you want to be"

I believe the talented Mr Ripley used this strategy to good effect. There's a saying about never trust anyone who doesn't have at least one friend left from childhood.

[HaloZero]

Not sure what the point of the childhood friend thing is.

I was a very very awkward youth (I didn't speak English well and I was one of few Indian students at my school) so I had a lot of trouble making friends. I don't have many friends from my childhood because I wasn't very good at it, I didn't really establish lasting friendships until High School and College.

[Radix]

High school counts as childhood, and more to the point, childhood friends are an indication that a person is not a disloyal back stabber and is someone others value. It's social proof.

it's just a saying though and is useless past its intended meaning. It does't seem to apply to you.

[ComputerGuru]

I would say HS counts as childhood.

[Estragon]

This saying is hard to google for, and quite intersting. Do you have a cite handy?