levels

How do you treat your friends? Are they all given the same amount of care and attention? Do you have an unspoken (possibly unconscious) tier system of friends? There is the best friend(s) who live at level 1 and you can count on for anything, trust with your life, and you communicate with on a regular basis. Then the levels go down from there. Level 2 friends might be those who you speak to a little less or are not as reliable. Maybe a level 3 friend is one that you only hang out with for a good time but don't really want to have at your house. Level 4 is made up of acquaintances from work who you talk to and leave it there.
What if you see a friend as a level 1or 2 and they see you as a 3 or 4?

I see my students struggle with making friends and dealing with acquaintances every day. They have their obvious levels of friends. Their level 1 is the kids you can't let go to the bathroom together or they will just play and talk and their level 2 friends who they play with on the playground and go to birthday parties. Their level 3 friends who they play on the playground with but would never ask mom or dad to have over after school. Level 4 is in your class and you might have to share a glue with them during craft time. Kids overtly show when they desire friends. Feelings get hurt and there are tears when a kid realizes they will never be someone's level 1.

How much of our adult social lives are influenced by our grade school abilities to make level 1 and 2 friends? How many top tier friends are needed to feel cared for or liked. What if we were always the level 3 of the friend chain but wanted to be a higher importance? Do we turn into motivated adults or into adults who strive for attention in the workplace?