Thanks to covid, the only friends you have right now are probably your stuffed animal teddy bear and your computer—Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube.
For those of us who are finishing up school in the next coming months, I have one question for you.
How the HELL are we going to make friends after we’re gone?
Now I’m not suggesting that you don’t have any friends right now. You might have tons of friends! But what I’m saying is how are we going to make friends after were done with school and in the real world?
It’s something I really haven’t thought about up until this point. I’m about to graduate, and I really have no clue who I’m going to talk to or hang out with when I move and start a new job.
So here's what I say to that...
Maintain friends from high school
Maintaining friends, in general, is a great way to keep old friends in your life. The difficult thing about this is that friendship is not a one-way street. Both individuals have to contribute to the friendship. If only one of you is keeping in contact with the other, the friendship won’t last long.
Source: Wix GIF
I would also say that maintaining high school relationships would only work if you and the other person’s maturity levels are at the same point in life. I have found that some of my high school friendships ended because our goals and aspirations in life drifted, and we just drifted apart.
If this happens, it’s no one’s fault, and there shouldn’t be any animosity between you two—it was just a friendship that didn't work out. Maybe they’re a ‘once and a while type of friend. Sometimes those are the best kind of friends. And when you two meet again, maybe you’ll connect in a better way.
If you have that one or two close friends from high school who are your besties, that’s amazing. I’ve had the same best friend for the past 18 years, and she's not leaving my side any time soon!
Keep your friendships lasting through college
College friends are different from high school friends because you share the same interests.
Most likely, you’ll maintain friends with who you have multiple classes or share the same major. Or even roommates that will eventually double as your roommate after college.
These are the best of friends because you’ll always be able to talk about something. Maybe even too much about those topics only the people in your major would understand.
These are the types of friends you can share ideas and advice about the future with. Their friendship will last a lifetime and will stick with you forever!
Find your “work bestie”
Befriending people at work is inevitable—you’re going to see them every day. Creating and maintaining work relationships is defiantly important to make work more enjoyable and not really feel like work.
I say that there can be positives and negatives to having work besties.
You will always have someone to count on to make the day go by faster. They will listen to you and give you advice on whatever shit you have going on in your life. They will cover for you when you show up to work high or hungover, or not even showing up to work at all. Yeah, they're pretty great.
The downside to having a work bestie: you distract each other from actually getting shit done. But if you both end up getting fired, at least you'll have your lasting friendship.
Go out and meet new people
Now I think this one might be the hardest one right now. Being outgoing in social situations can be uncomfortable at times, especially when wearing a mask.
But if you’re trying to make new friends, sometimes you need to step outside of your comfort zone and just say, 'Fuck it!'
It’s weird to think about, but consider it like dating but for your next best friends. There are even apps now that resemble Tinder or Bumble but strictly for making friends.
But we shouldn't be afraid to approach people and be friendly. Clearly, if we all struggle in the friend-making department, we already have that in common.
Next time your out, on your own or with another group of friends, strike up a conversation with someone new. You might be pleasantly surprised with how much you have in common.
Well, I hope these suggestions help you out a little bit. It definitely made me wonder—when did we get so bad at making friends? I think friends just fall into our laps when we least expect them. But anyway, I wish you luck on your friend-making journey.