we used to be friends

In elementary school, you couldn’t really stop being friends with somebody. They were always around, and for the sake of understood social propriety (yes this existed in elementary school), you remained friends with people you may or may not have actually liked because they had scented markers or were good at a&c (this may have just been my checklist for childhood friendship). When high school hit, a pandora’s box of emotional upheaval was released. In the 7^th grade you were just happy to have any friends at all to help you survive the frigid stares and exclusionary practices of the popular girls. Eventually, in high school, your crew of people became established, but again I am not sure if for the most part this was maintained because you actually were compatible as a whole or if they were just convenient. Well past this era, as a 23 year old who thinks she is an adult but is self aware enough to know she is not, I wonder what makes us now remain friends with people who we clearly do not like or who deviate from our established set of values.  Why do people continue to associate with people who make them feel badly about themselves, or use important information divulged in secret as a means to attack ones character, or even just basically, act in ways that counter their understanding of what constitutes a proper friendship? I am guilty of maintaining friendships with people who regularly frustrate me with their behaviour and their flakiness, and who demonstrate a general insensitivity to others. When I think about why I do not cut these people out of my life, it is because it is not worth the effort and hassle. I would rather the friendship end organically, with it slowly dissipating with both parties recognizing that the relationship wasn't sustainable. It is mostly frustrating when those bothersome friends cling to the idea of your friendship in name, claiming for all those who are listening that you are their possession as their "best friend." I disagree with this practice because it ostensibly cheapens the real friendships that I have which I value so deeply.