how to make friends essay

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Why are friends so important?

What to look for in a friend.

• Tips for being more friendly and social (even if you're shy)

How to make new friends: Where to start

Turning acquaintances into friends, overcoming obstacles to making friends, for better friendships, be a better friend yourself, making good friends.

Looking to build new friendships? These tips can help you meet people, start a conversation, and cultivate healthy connections that will improve your life and well-being.

Our society tends to place an emphasis on romantic relationships. We think that just finding that right person will make us happy and fulfilled. But research shows that friends are actually even more important to our psychological welfare. Friends bring more happiness into our lives than virtually anything else.

Friendships have a huge impact on your mental health and happiness. Good friends relieve stress, provide comfort and joy, and prevent loneliness and isolation. Developing close friendships can also have a powerful impact on your physical health. Lack of social connection may pose as much of a risk as smoking, drinking too much, or leading a sedentary lifestyle. Friends are even tied to longevity. One Swedish study found that, along with physical activity, maintaining a rich network of friends can add significant years to your life.

But close friendships don’t just happen. Many of us struggle to meet people and develop quality connections. Whatever your age or circumstances, though, it’s never too late to make new friends, reconnect with old ones, and greatly improve your social life, emotional health, and overall well-being.

The benefits of friendships

While developing and maintaining friendships takes time and effort, healthy friendships can:

Improve your mood. Spending time with happy and positive friends can elevate your mood and boost your outlook.

Help you to reach your goals. Whether you’re trying to get fit, give up smoking, or otherwise improve your life, encouragement from a friend can really boost your willpower and increase your chances of success.

Reduce your stress and depression. Having an active social life can bolster your immune system and help reduce isolation, a major contributing factor to depression.

Support you through tough times. Even if it’s just having someone to share your problems with, friends can help you cope with serious illness, the loss of a job or loved one, the breakup of a relationship, or any other challenges in life.

Support you as you age. As you age, retirement , illness, and the death of loved ones can often leave you isolated. Knowing there are people you can turn to for company and support can provide purpose as you age and serve as a buffer against depression, disability, hardship and loss.

Boost your self-worth. Friendship is a two-way street, and the “give” side of the give-and-take contributes to your own sense of self-worth. Being there for your friends makes you feel needed and adds purpose to your life.

Why online friends aren’t enough

Technology has shifted the definition of friendship in recent years. With the click of a button, we can add a friend or make a new connection. But having hundreds of online friends is not the same as having a close friend you can spend time with in person.

Online friends can’t hug you when a crisis hits, visit you when you’re sick, or celebrate a happy occasion with you. Our most important and powerful connections happen when we’re face-to-face. So make it a priority to stay in touch in the real world, not just online.

A friend is someone you trust and with whom you share a deep level of understanding and communication. A good friend will:

• Show a genuine interest in what’s going on in your life, what you have to say, and how you think and feel.
• Accept you for who you are.
• Listen to you attentively without judging you, telling you how to think or feel, or trying to change the subject.
• Feel comfortable sharing things about themselves with you.

As friendship works both ways, a friend is also someone you feel comfortable supporting and accepting, and someone with whom you share a bond of trust and loyalty.

Focus on the way a friendship feels, not what it looks like

The most important quality in a friendship is the way the relationship makes you feel—not how it looks on paper, how alike you seem on the surface, or what others think. Ask yourself:

• Do I feel better after spending time with this person?
• Am I myself around this person?
• Do I feel secure, or do I feel like I have to watch what I say and do?
• Is the person supportive and am I treated with respect?
• Is this a person I can trust?

The bottom line: if the friendship feels good, it is good. But if a person tries to control you, criticizes you, abuses your generosity, or brings unwanted drama or negative influences into your life, it’s time to re-evaluate the friendship. A good friend does not require you to compromise your values, always agree with them, or disregard your own needs.

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Tips for being more friendly and social (even if you’re shy)

If you are introverted or shy , it can feel uncomfortable to put yourself out there socially. But you don’t have to be naturally outgoing or the life of the party to make new friends.

Focus on others, not yourself. The key to connecting to other people is by showing interest in them. When you’re truly interested in someone else’s thoughts, feelings, experiences, and opinions, it shows—and they’ll like you for it. You’ll make far more friends by showing your interest rather than trying to get people interested in you. If you’re not genuinely curious about the other person, then stop trying to connect.

[Read: Dealing with Loneliness and Shyness]

Pay attention. Switch off your smartphone, avoid other distractions, and make an effort to truly listen to the other person. By paying close attention to what they say, do, and how they interact, you’ll quickly get to know them. Small efforts go a long way, such as remembering someone’s preferences, the stories they’ve told you, and what’s going on in their life.

Evaluating interest

Friendship takes two, so it’s important to evaluate whether the other person is looking for new friends.

• Do they ask you questions about you, as if they’d like to get to know you better?
• Do they tell you things about themselves beyond surface small talk?
• Do they give you their full attention when you see them?
• Does the other person seem interested in exchanging contact information or making specific plans to get together?

If you can’t answer “yes” to these questions, the person may not be the best candidate for friendship now, even if they genuinely like you. There are many possible reasons why not, so don’t take it personally!

We tend to make friends with people we cross paths with regularly: people we go to school with, work with, or live close to. The more we see someone, the more likely a friendship is to develop. So, look at the places you frequent as you start your search for potential friends.

Another big factor in friendship is common interests. We tend to be drawn to people who are similar, with a shared hobby, cultural background, career path, or kids the same age. Think about activities you enjoy or the causes you care about. Where can you meet people who share the same interests?

Meeting new people

When looking to meet new people, try to open yourself up to new experiences. Not everything you try will lead to success but you can always learn from the experience and hopefully have some fun.

Volunteering can be a great way to help others while also meeting new people. Volunteering also gives you the opportunity to regularly practice and develop your social skills.

[Read: Volunteering and its Surprising Benefits]

Take a class or join a club to meet people with common interests, such as a book group, dinner club, or sports team. Websites such as Meetup.com can help you find local groups (or start your own) and connect with others who share similar interests.

Connect with your alumni association . Many colleges have alumni associations that meet regularly. You already have the college experience in common; bringing up old times makes for an easy conversation starter. Some associations also sponsor community service events or workshops where you can meet more people.

Walk a dog. Dog owners often stop and chat while their dogs sniff or play with each other. If dog ownership isn’t right for you, volunteer to walk dogs from a shelter or a local rescue group.

Attend art gallery openings, book readings, lectures, music recitals, or other community events where you can meet people with similar interests. Check with your library or local paper for events near you.

Behave like someone new to the area. Even if you’ve lived in the same place all your life, take the time to re-explore your neighborhood attractions. New arrivals to any town or city tend to visit these places first—and they’re often keen to meet new people and establish friendships, too.

Cheer on your team. Going to a bar alone can seem intimidating, but if you support a sports team, find out where other fans go to watch the games. You automatically have a shared interest—your team—which makes it natural to start up a conversation.

Take a moment to unplug . It’s difficult to meet new people in any social situation if you’re more interested in your phone than the people around you. Remove your headphones and put your smartphone away while you’re in the checkout line or waiting for a bus, for example. Making eye contact and exchanging small talk with strangers is great practice for making connections—and you never know where it may lead!

We all have acquaintances in our life—people we exchange small talk with as we go about our day or trade jokes or insights with online. While these relationships can fulfill you in their own right, with some effort, you can turn a casual acquaintance into a true friend.

The first step is to open up a little about yourself. Friendships are characterized by intimacy. True friends know about each other’s values, struggles, goals, and interests. So, try sharing something a little bit more personal than you would normally. You don’t have to reveal your most closely-held secret, just something a little more revealing than talking about the weather or something you watched on TV and see how the other person responds. Do they seem interested? Do they reciprocate by disclosing something about themselves?

Other tips for strengthening an acquaintance into a friend:

Invite a casual acquaintance out for a drink or to a movie . Lots of other people feel just as uncomfortable about reaching out and making new friends as you do. Be the one to break the ice. Take the first step and reach out to a neighbor or work colleague, for example—they will thank you later.

Carpool to work . Many companies offer carpool programs. If your employer doesn’t, simply ask a colleague if they’d like to share rides. Spending regular time together is a great way to get to know others better and offers the opportunity for uninterrupted and deeper conversation.

Track down old friends via social media . It’s easy to lose track of friends when you move or change jobs, for example. Make the effort to reconnect and then turn your “online” friends into “real-world” friends by meeting up for coffee instead of chatting on Facebook or Twitter.

Is something stopping you from building the friendships you’d like to have? Here are some common obstacles—and how you can overcome them.

If you’re too busy…

Developing and maintaining friendships takes time and effort, but even with a packed schedule, you can find ways to make the time for friends.

Put it on your calendar. Schedule time for your friends just as you would for errands. Make it automatic with a weekly or monthly standing appointment. Or simply make sure that you never leave a get-together without setting the next date.

Mix business and pleasure. Figure out a way to combine your socializing with activities that you have to do anyway.  These could include going to the gym, getting a pedicure, or shopping. Errands create an opportunity to spend time together while still being productive.

Group it. If you truly don’t have time for multiple one-on-one sessions with friends, set up a group get-together. It’s a good way to introduce your friends to each other. Of course, you’ll need to consider if everyone’s compatible first.

If you’re afraid of rejection…

Making new friends means putting yourself out there, and that can be scary. It’s especially intimidating if you’re someone who’s been betrayed, traumatized, or abused in the past, or someone with an insecure attachment bond. But by working with the right therapist , you can explore ways to build trust in existing and future friendships.

For more general insecurities or a fear of rejection, it helps to evaluate your attitude. Do you feel as if any rejection will haunt you forever or prove that you’re unlikeable or destined to be friendless? These fears get in the way of making satisfying connections and become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Nobody likes to be rejected, but there are healthy ways to handle it:

• Just because someone isn’t interested in talking or hanging out doesn’t automatically mean they’re rejecting you as a person. They may be busy, distracted, or have other things going on.
• If someone does reject you, that doesn’t mean that you’re worthless or unlovable. Maybe they’re having a bad day. Maybe they misread you or misinterpreted what you said. Or maybe they’re just not a nice person!
• You’re not going to like everyone you meet, and vice versa. Like dating, building a solid network of friends can be a numbers game. If you’re in the habit of regularly exchanging a few words with strangers you meet, rejections are less likely to hurt. There’s always the next person. Focus on the long-term goal of making quality connections, rather than getting hung up on the ones that didn’t pan out.
• Keep rejection in perspective. It never feels good, but it’s rarely as bad as you imagine. It’s unlikely that others are sitting around talking about it. Instead of beating yourself up, give yourself credit for trying and see what you can learn from the experience.

Making a new friend is just the beginning of the journey. Friendships take time to form and even more time to deepen, so you need to nurture that new connection.

Be the friend that you would like to have. Treat your friend just as you want them to treat you. Be reliable, thoughtful, trustworthy, and willing to share yourself and your time.

Be a good listener. Be prepared to listen to and support friends just as you want them to listen to and support you.

Give your friend space. Don’t be too clingy or needy. Everyone needs space to be alone or spend time with other people as well.

Don’t set too many rules and expectations. Instead, allow your friendship to evolve naturally. You’re both unique individuals so your friendship probably won’t develop exactly as you expect.

Be forgiving. No one is perfect and every friend will make mistakes. No friendship develops smoothly so when there’s a bump in the road, try to find a way to overcome the problem and move on. It will often deepen the bond between you.

More Information

• Copeland, M. E. (n.d.). Making and Keeping Friends—A Self-Help Guide (SMA-3716; p. 11). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). Retrieved August 4, 2021, from Link
• Is well-being associated with the quantity and quality of social interactions? – PsycNET. (n.d.). Retrieved August 3, 2021, from Link
• Hall, J. A. (2019). How many hours does it take to make a friend? Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36(4), 1278–1296. Link
• Chopik, W. J. (2017). Associations among relational values, support, health, and well-being across the adult lifespan. Personal Relationships, 24(2), 408–422. Link

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Essay on Friendship

List of essays on friendship, essay on friendship – short essay for kids (essay 1 – 150 words), essay on friendship – 10 lines on friendship written in english (essay 2 – 250 words), essay on friendship – for school students (class 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7) (essay 3 – 300 words), essay on friendship – for students (essay 4 – 400 words), essay on friendship (essay 5 – 500 words), essay on friendship – introduction, benefits and qualities (essay 6 – 600 words), essay on friendship – essay on true friendship (essay 7 – 750 words), essay on friendship – importance, types, examples and conclusion (essay 8 – 1000 words).

Friendship is a divine relationship, which is defined by neither blood nor any other similarity. Who is in this world does not have a friend?

A friend, with whom you just love to spend your time, can share your joys and sorrows. Most importantly you need not fake yourself and just be what you are. That is what friendship is all about. It is one of the most beautiful of the relations in the world. Students of today need to understand the values of friendship and therefore we have composed different long essays for students as well as short essays.

Audience: The below given essays are exclusively written for school students (Class 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Standard).

Introduction:

Friendship is considered as one of the treasures that anyone can possess. God has given us the liberty to choose friends because they are for our lifetime. It is quite normal for our parents and siblings to love us because they are our own blood but a friend is someone who is initially a stranger and then takes his/her place above all the other relations. Friendship is nothing but pure love without any expectations.

Role of a Friend:

True friends share and support each other even during the toughest of times. A true friend is one who feels happy for our success, who feel sad for our failures, fight with us for silly things and hugs us the next second, gets angry on us when we do any mistakes. Friendship is all about having true friends who can understand us without the need for us to speak.

Conclusion:

Friendship is very essential for a happy life. Even a two-minute chat with a friend will make us forget our worries. That is the strength of friendship.

Friendship is a divine relationship, which is defined by neither blood nor any other similarity. Friends are those you can choose for yourself in spite of the difference you both have from each other. A good friend in need will do wonders in your life, whenever you are in need of self-realization, upbringing your confidence and more.

Friendship serves you best not only in your happiest moments but also when you feel low in emotions. A life without a good friend is not at all complete and an emptiness will be felt all the time you think of sharing your emotion that can’t be told to anyone else.

Honesty and Patience in Friendship:

To maintain and keep going with a good deep friendship, honesty is the most important factor. You should choose a person who can be cent percent honest with you in all perspective like emotions, decision making, etc. Trustworthy friendship will help you to take better decisions and choose a better path for your future well-being.

Tolerance and patience with each other are another important characteristics of long-lasting friendship. Accepting the differences, friends should be able to be with each other in all situations. As a friend, the person should lead the other to success by being a motivation and criticize the person if they choose the wrong path.

Friendship will give you sweet and happy memories that can be cherished for a lifetime and if you succeed in maintaining that precious relation, then you are the luckiest person in this world. Love and care for each other will cherish the relationship and helps the person to appreciate each thing done without any fail.

Of all the different relations which we indulge in, friendship is considered to be the purest of them all. Friendship is the true confluence of souls with like minded attitude that aids in seamless conversation and the best of times. It is believed that a person who doesn’t have any friend lives one of the toughest lives.

The Desire to Belong:

Each one of us have been so programmed that we need a companion even if it’s not romantic, someone just to tag along. There are several definitions of friendship and it is upon you as to how you believe your relation to be. Friendship can happen when you are simply sharing a bowl of food with a person day after day. It can be expressed in the way you silently care for someone even when they may not be aware of your existence.

The Little Moments that Matter:

It is giving up the little things you love dearly for the sake of someone you cherish a great deal. Friendship often refers to the little moments of senseless laugh you two share when the rest of the world starts to look bleak. It is to know what your friend needs and being there for them even when the rest of the world has turned their back towards them.

Friendship is the kind of relation which sometimes even exceeds the realms of love because it is all about giving without even once bothering to sense what you shall get back. Every time spent is special because when you are with friends, you don’t feel the blues!

The Bottom-Line:

Of course the definition of friendship is going to vary a great deal from one person to another. But, remember one thing, when you are friends with someone, be prepared to put your heart on the line for their happiness because friendship often manifests into love, even if it is not romantic, it always is true!

Friendship is the most valuable as well as precious gifts of life. Friendship is one of the most valued relationship. People who have good friends enjoy the most in their live. True friendship is based on loyalty & support. A good friend is a person who will stand with you when times are tough. A friend is someone special on whom you can rely on to celebrate a special moment. Friendship is like a life asset and it can lead us to success. It all depends on our choice how we choose our friends.

The quality of friendship is essential for happiness. The benefits of healthy friendship remains long-life. In addition, having a strong friend circle also improves our self-confidence. Due to the strong relationship, we get much emotional support during our bad times. True friendship is a feeling of love & care.

Real friendship cannot be built within limited boundaries like caste or creed. It gives us a feeling that someone really needs us & we are not alone. This is true that man cannot live alone. True friends are needed in every stage of life to survive. A true friend can be an old person or a child. But it is generally believed that we make friend with people who are of the same age as ours. Same age group can give you the freedom to share anything.

The selection of a true friend is also a challenging task. We have to carefully make our friend selection. Friends might come & go. They will make you laugh & cry. Wrong selection can create various problems for you. In the modern world, many youngsters become a social nuisance. The reason behind it is wrong & bad friendships.

But if we successfully choose the right person as a friend then our life becomes easier. It doesn’t matter who you are, what type of clothes you wear. The most important thing is trust because the relation of friendship stands on the pillars of trust.

Friendship is a relation which can make or break us in every stage of life. But in other words, friendship is an asset which is really precious. Obviously, it is also not so easy to maintain friendships. It demands your time as well as efforts. Last but not the least, it is hard to find true friendship but once you succeed in this task you will have a wonderful time. In exchange for that a friend will only need your valuable time and trust.

The idea of friendship is either heartwarming or gives cold feet depending on individuals and the types of friendships. In the current world, friendships have had different definitions based on the morality and civilization of the society. Ideally, friendship is defined as the state of mutual trust between individuals or parties. Trust is an important component of friendship because it determines the reliability and longevity of the friendship. Trust is built through honest communications between the individuals and interested parties.

Once trust has been established, mutual understanding and support being to form the resulting in a friendship. This friendship can be broken through lack of trust. Trust can be breached through deceit and/ or some people, it differs with the frequencies. There are people who will break friendships after only one episode of dishonesty whereas some people give second chances and even more chances. Friendship types determine the longevity and the causes of breakups. The importance of friendship in the lives of individuals is the reason why friendships are formed in the first place.

Types of Friendships:

According to Aristotle’s Nichomachean ethics, there are three types of friendships. The friendships are based on three factors i.e. utility, pleasure and goodness. The first type of friendship is based on utility and has been described as a friendship whereby both parties gain from each other.

This type of friendship is dependent on the benefits and that is what keeps the friendship going. This type of friendships do not last long because it dissolves as soon as the benefits are outsourced or when other sources are found outside the friendship. The friendship was invented for trade purposes because when two people with opposite things that depend on each other re put together, trade is maximized.

The second type of friendship is based on pleasure. This is described as friendship in which two individuals are drawn to each other based on desires of pleasure and is characterized by passionate feelings and feelings of belonging. This type of friendship can ether last long or is short-lived depending on the presence of the attraction between the two parties.

The third type of friendship is based on goodness. In this friendship, the goodness of people draw them to each other and they usually have the same virtues. The friendship involves loving each other and expecting goodness. It takes long to develop this kind of friendship but it usually lasts longest and is actually the best kind of friendship to be in. the importance of such a friendship is the social support and love.

In conclusion, friendships are important in the lives of individuals. Trust builds and sustains friendships. The different types of friendships are important because they provide benefits and social support. Friendships provide a feeling of belonging and dependence. The durability of friendships is dependent on the basis of its formation and the intention during the formation. Friendships that last long are not based on materialistic gain, instead, they are based on pure emotion.

Friendship is an emotion of care, mutual trust, and fondness among two persons. A friend might be a work-mate, buddy, fellow student or any individual with whom we feel an attachment.

In friendship, people have a mutual exchange of sentiments and faith too. Usually, the friendship nurtures more amongst those people who belong to a similar age as they possess the same passions, interests, sentiments, and opinions. During the school days, kids who belong to the similar age group have a common dream about their future and this makes them all of them get closer in friendship.

In the same way, employees working in business organizations also make friends as they are working together for attaining the organizational objectives. It does not matter that to which age group you belong, friendship can happen at any time of your life.

Benefits of Friendship:

Sometimes friendship is essential in our life. Below are a few benefits of friendship.

1. It’s impossible to live your life alone always but friendship fills that gap quickly with the friend’s company.

2. You can easily pass the rigidities of life with the friendship as in your distress period your friends are always there to help you.

3. Friendship teaches you how to remain happy in life.

4. In case of any confusion or problem, your friendship will always benefit you with good opinions.

True and Dishonest Friendship:

True friendship is very rare in today’s times. There are so many persons who support only those people who are in power so that they can fulfil their selfish motives below the name of friendship. They stay with friends till the time their selfish requirements are achieved. Dishonest friends leave people as soon as their power gets vanished. You can find these types of self-seeking friends all around the world who are quite hurtful than enemies.

Finding a true friendship is very difficult. A true friend helps the other friend who is in need. It does not matter to him that his friend is right or wrong but he will always support his friend at the time of his difficulty.

Carefulness in the Selection of Friendship:

You must be very careful while choosing friends. You should nurture your friendship with that person who does not leave you in your bad times easily. Once you get emotionally attached to the wrong person you cannot finish your friendship so soon. True friendship continues till the time of your last breaths and does not change with the passing time.

Friendship with a bad person also affects your own thoughts and habits. Therefore, a bad person should not be chosen in any type of circumstances. We must do friendship with full attention and carefulness.

Best Qualities of Good Friendship:

Good friendship provides people an enormous love to each other.

The below are the important qualities of good friendship:

1. Good friendship is always faithful, honest, and truthful.

2. People pay attention and take note of others thoughts in good friendship.

3. Persons quickly forget and let off the mistakes of the other friend. In fact, they accept their friend in the way they are actually.

4. You are not judged on the basis of your success, money or power in it.

5. Friends do not feel shy to provide us with valuable opinions for our welfare.

6. People always share their joyful times with their good friends and also stay ready to help their friends in the time of need.

7. True friends also support others in their professional as well as personal life. They encourage their friends in the area of their interest.

Friendship is established over the sacrifice, love, faith, and concern of mutual benefit. True Friendship is a support and a blessing for everybody. All those males and females who have true and genuine friends are very lucky really.

Friendship can simply be defined as a form of mutual relationship or understanding between two people or more who interact and are attached to one another in a manner that is friendly. A friendship is a serious relationship of devotion between two or more people where people involved have a true and sincere feeling of affection, care and love towards each other devoid of any misunderstanding and without demands.

Primarily friendship happens between people that have the same sentiments, feelings and tastes. It is believed that there is no limit or criteria for friendship. All of the different creed, religion, caste, position, sex and age do not matter when it comes to friendship even though friendships can sometimes be damaged by economic disparity and other forms of differentiation. From all of these, it can be concluded that real and true friendship is very possible between people that have a uniform status and are like-minded.

A lot of friends we have in the world today only remain together in times of prosperity and absence of problems but only the faithful, sincere and true friends remain all through the troubles, times of hardships and our bad times. We only discover who our bad and good friends are in the times where we don’t have things going our way.

Most people want to be friends with people with money and we can’t really know if our friends are true when we have money and do not need their help, we only discover our true friends when we need their help in terms of money or any other form of support. A lot of friendships have been jeopardised because of money and the absence or presence of it.

Sometimes, we might face difficulty or crises in our friendships because of self-respect and ego. Friendships can be affected by us or others and we need to try to strike a balance in our friendships. For our friendship to prosper and be true, we need satisfaction, proper understanding and a trustworthy nature. As true friends, we should never exploit our friends but instead do our utmost best to motivate and support them in doing and attaining the very best things in life.

The true meaning of friendship is sometimes lost because of encounters with fake friends who have used and exploited us for their own personal benefits. People like this tend to end the friendship once they get what they want or stab their supposed friends in the back just to get what they think is best for them. Friendship is a very good thing that can help meet our need for companionship and other emotional needs.

In the world we live in today, it is extremely difficult to come across good and loyal friends and this daunting task isn’t made any easier by the lie and deceit of a lot of people in this generation. So, when one finds a very good and loyal important, it is like finding gold and one should do everything to keep friends like that.

The pursuit of true friendship Is not limited to humans, we can as well find good friends in animals; for example, it is a popular belief that dogs make the best friends. It is very important to have good friends as they help us in times and situations where we are down and facing difficulties. Our true friends always do their best to save us when we are in danger and also provide us with timely and good advice. True friends are priceless assets in our lives, they share our pains and sorrow, help provide relief to us in terrible situations and do their best to make us happy.

Friends can both be the good or the bad types. Good friends help push us on the right path in life while on the other hand, bad friends don’t care about us but only care about themselves and can lead us into the wrong path; because of this, we have to be absolutely careful when choosing our friends in this life.

Bad friends can ruin our lives completely so we have to be weary of them and do our best to avoid bag friends totally. We need friends in our life that will be there for us at every point in time and will share all of our feeling with us, both the good and bad. We need friends we can talk to anytime we are feeling lonely, friends that will make us laugh and smile anytime we are feeling sad.

What is friendship? It is the purest form of relationship between two individual with no hidden agenda. As per the dictionary, it is the mutual affection between people. But, is it just a mutual affection? Not always, as in the case of best friends, it is far beyond that. Great friends share each other’s feelings or notions which bring a feeling of prosperity and mental fulfillment.

A friend is a person whom one can know deeply, as and trust for eternity. Rather than having some likeness in the idea of two people associated with the friendship, they have some extraordinary qualities yet they want to be with each other without changing their uniqueness. By and large, friends spur each other without censuring, however at times great friends scrutinize do affect you in a positive manner.

Importance of Friendship:

It is very important to have a friend in life. Each friend is vital and their significance in known to us when certain circumstances emerge which must be supported by our friends. One can never feel lonely in this world on the off chance that he or she is embraced by true friends. Then again, depression wins in the lives of the individuals who don’t have friends regardless of billions of individuals present on the planet. Friends are particularly vital amid times of emergency and hardships. On the off chance that you wind up experiencing a hard time, having a friend to help you through can make the change simpler.

Having friends you can depend on can help your confidence. Then again, an absence of friends can make you feel lonely and without help, which makes you powerless for different issues, for example, sadness and drug abuse. Having no less than one individual you can depend on will formulate your confidence.

Choosing Your Friends Wisely:

Not all friends can instill the positivity in your life. There can be negative effects as well. It is very important to choose your friends with utmost wisdom. Picking the right friend is somewhat troublesome task however it is extremely important. In the event that for instance a couple of our dear friends are engaged with negative behaviour patterns, for example, smoking, drinking and taking drugs, at some point or another we will be attracted to their bad habits as well. This is the reason behind why it is appropriate to settle on an appropriate decision with regards to making friends.

Genuine friendship is truly a gift delighted in by a couple. The individuals who have it ought to express gratitude toward God for having genuine pearls in their lives and the individuals who don’t have a couple of good friends ought to always take a stab at better approaches to anchor great friends. No organization is superior to having a friend close by in the midst of need. You will stay cheerful in your one-room flat on the off chance that you are surrounded by your friends; then again, you can’t discover satisfaction even in your estate in the event that you are far away from others.

Types of Friends:

There is variety everywhere, so why not in friends. We can see different types of friends during our journey of life. For instance, your best friend at school is someone with whom you just get along the most. That friend, especially in the case of girls, may just get annoyed even if you talk to another of your friend more than her. Such is the childish nature of such friendships that at times it is difficult for others to identify whether you are best friends or competitors.

Then there is another category of your siblings. No matter how much you deny, but your siblings or your elder brother and sisters are those friends of yours who stay on with you for your entire life. You have a different set of friendship with them as you find yourself fighting with them most of the times. However, in times of need, you shall see that they are first ones standing behind you, supporting you.

There is another category of friends called professional friends. You come across such friends only when you grow up and choose a profession for yourself. These friends are usually from the same organisation and prove to be helpful during your settling years. Some of them tend to stay on with you even when you change companies.

Friendship Examples from History:

History has always taught us a lot. Examples of true friendship are not far behind. We have some famous example from history which makes us realise the true value of friendship. The topmost of them are the Krishna and Sudama friendship. We all must have read or heard as to how after becoming a king when Krishna met Sudama, his childhood friend, he treated him with honour even though Sudama was a poor person. It teaches us the friendship need not be between equals. It has to be between likeminded people. Next example is of Karna and Duryodhana, again from the Mahabharat era.

Despite knowing the fact that the Pandavas were his brothers, Karna went on to fight alongside Duryodhan as he is his best friend and even laid down his life for him. What more example of true friendship can one find? Again from the same era, Krishna and Arjun are also referred to as the best of the friends. Bhagavad Gita is an example of how a true friend can guide you towards positivity in life and make you follow the path of Dharma. Similarly, there are numerous examples from history which teach us the values of true friendship and the need to nourish such for own good.

Whether you accept or deny it, a friend plays an important role in your life. In fact, it is very important to have a friend. However, at the same time, it is extremely important to choose the friends wisely as they are the ones who can build you or destroy you. Nonetheless, a friend’s company is something which one enjoys all through life and friends should be treated as the best treasure a man can have.

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The Importance of Friendship

Friendships are a crucial part of living a fulfilling life..

Posted July 26, 2021 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

• Friendship makes life more enjoyable and enriches one's everyday experiences.
• Finding friends can be challenging but can be often achieved by approaching others with mutual interests.
• The first criteria one should look for in a partner is someone who is ultimately a good friend to them.

As we move through life, we find that there are many things out of our control. We can’t choose our parents, our genetics , or control the things that happen in the world around us. One thing that we can control is who our friends are, and this decision can either make our lives so much richer and beautiful, or more stressful and disappointing. Today we’ll focus on how to choose friends who enrich our lives and make them more beautiful.

Why friends are so important

Having solid friendships is important for two main reasons. First, they make life more enjoyable. We get to share the beautiful aspects of life with people who we love, which can enrich our everyday experiences. Second, our friends help us through the difficult times. Having friends to support us through hard times can make unimaginably difficult situations seem more tolerable.

The most beautiful part about pouring our time and energy into friendships is that not only do friends help enrich our lives, but we enrich theirs too! Friendships get us through the tough times in life, make things more fun and enjoyable, and all-around make our lives better. I urge you to take stock of your friendships and ask yourself if your current friends people build you up and support you, or is the friendship more one-sided?

As we explore friendships today, these are also inclusive of our partners. I believe that the foundation for any healthy relationship is friendship. So it’s important to group our romantic partners into this conversation too.

So, where do we find friends? This might sound silly, but finding friends can be challenging! When I first moved to California for my Ph.D., I didn’t have any friends out here. There were quite a few people in my program that I enjoyed spending time with. But, towards the end of school, they became very busy and were no longer able to dedicate time to hang out anymore. Thankfully, through the help of a very good therapist, I learned that it was important to enjoy life instead of striving for excellence all of the time. As a result, I learned how important it was to carve out time in my life for friends.

Unfortunately, the people I had dedicated time to thus far were achievement-oriented and were pouring their time into work and not our friendships. This forced me to seek out other ways to form connections with people. I ended up finding a local hiking group with the hopes of meeting people with similar interests. During one of these hikes, I met Jim, one of my best friends to this day.

We became instant friends. We have continued to support each other over the years, and even more importantly, we always make time for one another. We both view the friendship as one that makes each other’s lives better, therefore it’s always worth the time and energy. The backbone of any successful friendship is one where both sides put in equal effort and support.

Both Jim and I were forced to put in more effort when he moved across the country to the East Coast. Because we already had such a strong foundation, this didn’t impact our friendship. We talk all of the time and see each other several times a year. We make the relationship a priority no matter what coast each other is on. Like anything in life that is valuable to us, we must work at it and put time and effort into it.

When it's time to move on from a friendship

The second part of the friendship discussion can be a difficult one — reassessing your current friendships and potentially moving on from friends who don’t add value to your life.

Two of my best friends from high school went down different paths from me. We still keep in contact, but I don’t spend too much time with them anymore. The supporting, loving part of our relationship wasn’t there anymore, so it was no longer worth putting energy into maintaining a friendship that had changed so much.

This may be a story you can relate to. What I hope you take away from this post is this — friendships take energy, time, and commitment. And if you’re putting your time and energy into someone who isn’t enriching your life and giving you the support you need, it may be time to reevaluate that friendship.

If you find yourself in the market for friends (who isn’t?) I recommend you find groups or activities that you genuinely enjoy. This way you’ll have the opportunity to connect with people who have similar interests. And once you’re there, take a risk! Talk to people, exchange contact information, and follow up with them. It may feel scary at first, but the reward outweighs the momentary uncomfortable feeling you may have.

Friendship and dating

In many ways, the most important friendship in our lives is the one we have with our romantic partners. The first criteria we should look for in this partner is someone who is ultimately a good friend to us, meaning that they are kind, positive, loving, and supportive. If we’re dating someone and they’re a jerk, it’s probably safe to assume that they’re not a good friend. To avoid this, I recommend seeking out someone who is a good friend first, i.e. before the romance and sexual stuff gets in the way.

When there are bumps in a friendship or a romantic relationship , it’s important to work through those tough times. The tricky part is that it will take two people to fix that issue. We can only control our actions and hold ourselves accountable, but we cannot control our friend or our partner's reaction. In addition to our own actions, we have control over the friends or partners that we choose in the first place. If we prioritize choosing good people who we can trust will work through issues with us, then we can work through anything.

Friendships are a crucial part of living a fulfilling life. It’s so important that we surround ourselves with people who we have fun with, who support us, and people who make us better. You may already have beautiful friendships in your life, but if you’re still in the market for friends, it’s never too late to cultivate new relationships that will make your life even more magnificent.

Robert Puff, Ph.D. , is host and producer of the Happiness Podcast, with over 16 million downloads.

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127 Friendship Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

When you have a good friendship topic, essay writing becomes as easy as it gets. We have some for you!

📝 Friendship Essay Structure

🏆 best friendship topic ideas & essay examples, 💡 good essay topics on friendship, 🎓 simple & easy friendship essay titles, 📌 most interesting friendship topics to write about, ❓ research questions about friendship.

Describing a friend, talking about your relationship and life experiences can be quite fun! So, take a look at our topics on friendship in the list below. Our experts have gathered numerous ideas that can be extremely helpful for you. And don’t forget to check our friendship essay examples via the links.

Writing a friendship essay is an excellent way to reflect on your relationships with other people, show your appreciation for your friends, and explore what friendship means to you. What you include in your paper is entirely up to you, but this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t structure it properly. Here is our advice on structuring an essay on friendship:

• Begin by selecting the right topic. It should be focused and creative so that you can earn a high mark. Think about what friendship means to you and write down your thoughts. Reflect on your relationship with your best friend and see if you can write an essay that incorporates these themes. If these steps didn’t help – don’t worry! Fortunately, there are many web resources that can help you choose. Browse samples of friendship essays online to see if there are any topics that interest you.
• Create a title that reflects your focus. Paper titles are important because they grasp the reader’s attention and make them want to read further. However, many people find it challenging to name their work, so you can search for friendship essay titles online if you need to.
• Once you get the first two steps right, you can start developing the structure of your essay. An outline is a great tool because it presents your ideas in a clear and concise manner and ensures that there are no gaps or irrelevant points. The most basic essay outline has three components: introduction, body, and conclusion. Type these out and move to the next step. Compose an introduction. Your introduction should include a hook, some background information, and a thesis. A friendship essay hook is the first sentence in the introduction, where you draw the reader’s attention. For instance, if you are creating an essay on value of friendship, include a brief description of a situation where your friends helped you or something else that comes to mind. A hook should make the reader want to read the rest of the essay. After the hook, include some background information on your chosen theme and write down a thesis. A thesis statement is the final sentence of the first paragraph that consists of your main argument.
• Write well-structured body paragraphs. Each body paragraph should start with one key point, which is then developed through examples, references to resources, or other content. Make sure that each of the key points relates to your thesis. It might be useful to write out all of your key points first before you write the main body of the paper. This will help you to see if any of them are irrelevant or need to be swapped to establish a logical sequence. If you are composing an essay on the importance of friendship, each point should show how a good friend can make life better and more enjoyable. End each paragraph with a concluding sentence that links it to the next part of the paper.
• Finally, compose a conclusion. A friendship essay conclusion should tie together all your points and show how they support your thesis. For this purpose, you should restate your thesis statement at the beginning of the final paragraph. This will offer your reader a nice, well-balanced closure, leaving a good impression of your work.

We hope that this post has assisted you in understanding the basic structure of a friendship paper. Don’t forget to browse our website for sample papers, essay titles, and other resources!

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• How Do Children Cope With Friendship and Death After Reading Charlottes Web?
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• How Does the Nature of Children’s Friendship Change With Age?
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• How Do Friendship Network Characteristics Influence Subjective Well-Being?
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• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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A friendship essay is precisely what it sounds like: a paper that students write to describe their relationships with their mates.  It is among the many assignments that students are given in their college institutions.  Writing essays about friendship is a great way to analyze what the connection means to you and reflect on some of your encounters. It can also be used as a tool to improve your closeness and affection. This blog post offers tips you may consider while writing your paper and its outline. It features friendship essay examples that help generate ideas that form the primary focus of your paper.  If you are not ready to waste your time on essay writing, StudyCrumb is here to offer affordable prices and professional writers.

What Is a Friendship Essay?

The definition of friendship essay is quite clear and straightforward. A paper about friends can be described as a write-up on a relationship between two or more people. This interpretation makes it easier to obtain the meaning of friendship essay.  Writing such thematic essay will help you communicate your feelings as well as your thoughts. It allows you to recollect your memories about different encounters you have had in life. It will also help you evaluate qualities of your connection.  While writing, you may have a sequence of events starting from your meet-up, activities you have done together, and how you have sustained the connection. Preparing an essay about friendship can evoke memories from your past that may have been long forgotten.

Purpose of an Essay on Friendship

This kind of essay aims to help you explore its nature and form, its pros and cons, and its role in your life. The importance of friendship essay is that it acts as a reflective tool. It helps you realize the significance of creating and maintaining good relationships with friends. It also explains how these connections contribute to your overall wellness. In addition, an article about friendship may teach you to understand that true friendship is priceless and should stand the test of time.

Ideas to Write a Friendship Essay on

Writing essays about friendship is a more manageable task than drafting a paper about a topic that may require more detailed research. Any excellent essay about true friendship starts with an idea that you can examine.  Below are some unique ideas you can explore:

• What is friendship?
• What does friendship mean to me?
• The value of friendship you cherish in your life.
• Cross-cultural friendships.
• The role of friendship in mental health maintenance.

As you reflect on your relationship with your friend, see if you can write a paper incorporating these themes. Remember to choose an idea that interests you and is relevant to your personal experiences or research. Be sure to support your arguments with evidence and examples from real-life situations, literature, or academic research. Look through our definition essay topics or persuasive essay ideas to find a theme that suits your task best.

Friendship Essay Outline

An essay outline about friendship is a summary of what your write-up will contain but in a less detailed format. You use it to organize and structure your content logically and effectively. It presents the main topics and subtopics hierarchically, allowing writers to see the connection between different parts of the material. The importance of an outline lies in its ability to help writers plan, organize, as well as clarify their ideas. This makes the writing of an essay about friends more efficient, and the final product is more coherent and effective. Here is an example of an outline for a friendship essay.

• Briefly introduce the topic of friendship
• Provide a thesis statement that summarizes the main points of the essay
• Topic sentence
• Your main argument
• Real-life examples that support your key idea
• Supporting evidence
• 3rd Body Paragraph
• Examples or recommendations
• Summarize the main points
• Provide some food for thought

Note that this is a general outline. The exact structure and content of your essay will depend on the specific requirements of your assignment and your personal interests.

Structure of a Friendship Essay

The structure of an essay on friendship typically includes the following three parts.

• Introduction An introduction should grab the reader's attention and provide background information. It should also include a clear thesis statement that sets a path and direction of the friendship essays.
• Body The essay's body is where you will provide evidence and details to underpin your thesis statement. It should consist of several paragraphs supporting and developing a statement of purpose. Each paragraph should focus on a specific aspect of your friendliness, such as its importance, benefits, or challenges.
• Conclusion Briefly summarize the essay's main points and reinforce your principal argument. The conclusion should leave a lasting impression on readers and emphasize your topic's significance. Overall, the structure should be clear and well-organized, allowing the audience to follow your argument and understand the topic's significance.

Friendship Essay Introduction

A good introduction about friendship essay should grab the reader's attention and encourage them to continue reading. This can be achieved through a " hook ," a quote, an interesting fact, or a thought-provoking question. Background information can then be provided to give context to the discussed topic.  The introduction to an essay about friendship should also clearly state your main point or argument of the piece, known as thesis statement. This sets pace for the rest of the paper and gives readers a clear view of what to expect. A friendship essay introduction should be concise, engaging, and provide context for the audience to understand the content fully.

Friendship Essay Introduction Example

Here is an example of a friendship essay introduction that sets the stage for a reflective and thought-provoking exploration of the most precious gift in life.

Friendship Essay Thesis Statement

The friendship thesis statement aims to provide a summary of the essay's main point. It can be one or two sentences which you develop as you research. The statement of purpose should focus on the central argument and be supported by evidence presented in the body. The thesis statement about friendship should guide the essay's structure. Its main objective is to provide your reader with a roadmap to follow. It should be specific, concise, and accurately reflect the content in your paper. Understanding what constitutes a strong thesis is crucial for writers as it is integral to every essay writing process.

Friendship Thesis Statement Example

The thesis statement must be clear to readers so that they may quickly recognize it and comprehend the paper's significance. It should act as a blueprint of what to expect. A friendship thesis statement sample could be:

Friendship Essay Body

The body part should include five or more paragraphs. Students will use body paragraphs to elaborate on the key factors that make their connection special.

• Definition and explanation. This friendship body paragraph should start with a definition and a brief explanation of its characteristics and qualities.
• Importance of friends. Discuss why it is vital in your life and how it contributes to personal growth and welfare.
• Types of friendships. A paragraph about friendship should discuss different types of friend's relationships that exist.
• Qualities of a good friend. Discuss standards a great confidant should possess.
• Challenges. Discuss the common problems that friends face.
• Ways to strengthen friendship. Provide tips on reinforcing and maintaining good relationships.
• Conclusion. Sum up the key points made in your essay and reiterate the importance of genuine bonds in life.

Friendship Body Paragraph Example

Below is a friendship body paragraph sample.

Friendship Essay Conclusion

Any conclusion on a friendship essay should sum up the main ideas discussed in your essay and restate the thesis statement. It should leave a lasting impression and provide a closure to your topic. To start writing a conclusion about a friendship essay, commence by rephrasing the thesis statement in different words. Summarize the points discussed in your essay by connecting them back to your statement of purpose. End conclusion with a final thought or call to action that leaves a lasting impression on your reader.  It is vital to keep it concise yet impactful. Avoid introducing new information or arguments, as it can confuse readers. Instead, focus on tying up loose ends and emphasizing main ideas discussed in your essay.

Friendship Essay Conclusion Sample

Here is an example of a friendship essay conclusion:

How to Write an Essay on Friendship?

To write an essay about friendship, start by brainstorming ideas about what friends mean to you and the benefits of such kinds of relationships. Knowing how to write a good essay about friendship involves selecting a great topic and arranging your content in a manner that has logical flow.

1. Come Up With a Topic About Friendship

To brainstorm essay topics on friendship, consider the following.

• Reflect on your own experiences. Think about your own bonds and encounters you have had with allies. Avoid bad occurrences. This can inspire topics to explore in your essay. To find a subject that interests you, you can also look through internet examples of friend essays.
• Ask questions related to friends, such as "What makes a meaningful connection?" or "How does the quality of your bond change over time?"
• Talk to others. Ask friends, family, or classmates about their experiences. They may have interesting insights that can inspire new topics for your essay.

Ensure that topic you select is appropriate for your report style. For example: 

You can start this topic by how you met, narrate your story, and then pick out some attributes of a good friend and the advantages of the relationship. Remember to choose a topic on friendship essay that you feel passionate about and can explore in depth in your essay.

2. Do Research

To research and collect information for the friend essay, follow these steps.

• Start with a general search. Use search engines like Google to find articles, books, and other resources on affection.
• Identify keywords. Determine the most relevant keywords for your essay, such as "essay about a friend." Use them in your search to narrow down results to the most pertinent information.
• Evaluate sources. When you have a list of potential sources, evaluate each to determine their credibility and relevance. Look for sources that are written by experts in the field and that have been peer-reviewed or published in reputable journals.
• Take notes. As you read, take notes on the most important and relevant information.

3. Develop a Friendship Essay Outline

An outline is a useful tool for organizing ideas in an essay and it ensures that your essay has a structure. Before outlining you need to have a clear vision of what your essay will focus on. Then analyze every piece of information that you have and categorize it into headings. An outline of an essay about friendships will comprise a list which consists of each paragraph’s topic sentence . By going through the outline, you are able to examine what purpose each paragraph serves. If you need assistance on how to create an outline for a college essay about friendship use the outline example shown below.

4. Write an Essay on Friendship

Writing an essay about friendship is an exciting task. Below is a sample of how you can write your friendship essay. Friendship is the bond between two or more individuals based on mutual trust, support, and understanding. This connection can develop at any stage of life and even last a lifetime. It is a bond that fills our lives with comfort, laughter, and advice during a hard period. Many different factors can contribute to its formation and success. Having similar needs, mutual interests, and social activities can help sustain the relationship. Another crucial aspect is being ready to support each other through happy and difficult times unconditionally. Trust is also an essential component in the longevity of this connection. In conclusion, friendship is an invaluable treasure that brings joy, comfort, and support to our lives. It provides a safe place in a world that can be harsh and unforgiving. It reminds us that we should always stay true to each other.

5. Proofread Your Friendship Essay

When writing a friendship essay, consider the following for an effective introduction.

• Grab your reader's attention. A good introduction makes them want to continue reading your friendship essay.
• Provide context. Give an overview of the friendship essay and its purpose. This will make readers interested in your work.
• Establish your purpose. Clearly state the main idea or thesis.
• Preview the main points. Briefly summarize key points that will be covered.
• Be concise. An introduction should be short and on point, generally no more than one or two paragraphs.

Remember, your introduction will set tone for the rest of your piece and should encourage your readers to continue reading.

Friendship Essay Examples

A sample essay about friendship can be critical to students, especially when they are researching and collecting information. Free friendship essays help you get ideas on how to write and structure your essay. Below are essay examples about friendship that you can go through to help with your writing and draw inspiration from. Friendship essay example 1

Friendship essay example 2

Essay about friendship sample 3

Example of essay on friendship 4

Friendship Essay Writing Tips

Here are some extra tips you need to know that will motivate you to write a friendship short essay.

• You could start with a quote, an anecdote, or a surprising fact.
• Use examples from your own life to illustrate your points in your school college essay about friendship, as this will make your essay more relatable and interesting to read.
• Friendship titles for essays should be clear and straightforward. They should also reflect your main points.
• Describe the aspect of the bond that, in your opinion, is most crucial. It is possible to personalize something that means an entirely different thing to various individuals.

Bottom Line on Friendship Essay Writing

Your central task is to understand what is a friendship essay even before you start writing. Friendship essays explore the nature of our relationships and their various aspects. They can take various forms, from short reflective essays to longer, more analytical pieces. These papers can discuss qualities that make a good friend, the benefits of your relationship, or challenges of maintaining close relationships. Examples of short essays about friendship could be a personal reflection, exploring the unique bond between the writer and their friend and what they hope to continue gaining from each other when they cross paths in future. If you struggle with other papers, feel free to check out our writing guides. From an essay about bullying to a world peace essay , we’ve got you covered.

FAQ About Friendship Essay

1. may i use friendship quotes for the essay.

Yes, it is always a winning step. You can write an essay on friendship with quotes either as the title of your essay or as an introductory phrase. You can also include it in the body of your work while narrating your story.

2. How to write a hook for an essay of friendship?

An essay should hook your reader's attention and make them want to read your story. When writing essays about friendship, you can describe a unique situation in which your friends helped you. You can also end your introduction with a catchy quote, such as Squad goals! Some other quotes that you can use include:

• A road to a friend's house is never long.
• Count your age with friends and years.
• True friend is seen through the heart, not through the eyes.

3. Explain the importance of friendship essay.

The importance of friendship essay is that it teaches students to express their thoughts and feelings about confidants and benefits they obtain from this connection. It also acts as a reflective tool. Friend essays also help students realize advantages of creating and maintaining good relationships with friends and how these linkages contribute to your overall wellness and welfare.

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

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Read more: How to Start off an Essay

Friendship is a special bond that unites two individuals with common interests, experiences, and emotions. It makes life easier and contributes to our happiness. It is a relationship that transcends race, religion, and socio-economic status and has power to sustain and uplift the spirit of humans. In this essay, I will explore its benefits and how it can contribute to a better world. Through personal anecdotes, I will illustrate the bond's depth and role in our day-to-day lives.

In this essay, I will explore friendship's meaning, its importance, benefits, drawbacks, and how it can contribute to a better world. Through a series of personal anecdotes, I will illustrate the bond's depth and its key role in our lives.

How to Spend Free Time with Friends • Outdoor Activities. Spending time in nature is a great way to bond with friends. You can meet, then go for a hike, take a walk, or go to a picnic in a park. This allows you to connect and enjoy the beautiful world around you. • Movie Night. Watching a movie is another fun activity you can do with friends. You can share popcorn, grab snacks, and enjoy a movie together. This is a great way to relax and unwind. • Board Games. Playing board games with friends is a fun and interactive way to spend free time. You can play classic games like Monopoly. This is a great way to challenge each other and have a good time.

Read more: How to Conclude an Essay

In conclusion, friendship is an essential aspect of our lives that brings joy, support, and companionship. It is a relationship built on mutual trust, understanding, and love. A true friend will always be there for you, no matter what. As humans, we need sincere friends to help us navigate life's ups and downs and provide emotional support. An understanding friend can withstand any obstacle and bring happiness to our lives. The connection is meant to last a lifetime, whether through shared experiences, interests, or simply a common bond. Ultimately, having a close group of loyal friends who truly care for us is one of the greatest gifts we can receive in life.

The Day my Best Friend Changed My Life.

Read more: Essay About Happiness : Tips & Examples

Essay on A Good Friend for Students and Children

500+ words essay on a good friend.

A good friend is the only relation which we earn in whole life. To find a good friend who is loving, caring, helpful, honest, loyal, and most important compatible. This is the biggest achievement of us which we get in the form of a true friend. Undoubtedly, we always learn something new and exciting in the company of our good friends from childhood. A pleasurable time spent with friends is a kind of some happiness that can’t be express. Whether you make group study or enjoying someone’s birthday party it is always enjoyable with friends.

What is a Friend?

A good friend is someone difficult to find. A friend is somebody you can always count on when times are a hard time. The dictionary’s definition of a good friend is a person who attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

Friendship means at ease with and liking of each other’s mind. A friend is one who appreciates a person’s skill. A good friend helps or encourages to make the right choices and do not get into any trouble at all.

Importance of Good Friend

Since childhood, friendship helps in making us understand and grow the habit of sharing and caring. Small kids develop friendship quicker and enjoy the company of their friends. They play and learn together. Friends are essential for their proper growth and development.

What makes a Good Friend?

Good friends are always caring, loving, loyal, passionate, a little bit critic of you. These qualities make a friend as a good friend. So, the person who talks behind your back and laughs at you can never be your good and true friend.

Friendship is the relation where friends listen to each other’s problems. Thus we can say that this bond is about good listeners. Definitely, to have a true friend is always like finding a real pearl.

Is Friendship Matters with Status?

Friendship has never bounded by people’s financial status. A king can be a true friend of a poor beggar and poor labor can be a good friend of a rich industrialist. As we all know that Lord Krishna was in unconditional true lovable friendship with poor Sudama. Friendship of Krishna and Sudama is a milestone for all of us. They were like soul mates. Also, their friendship was on that level where if one gets hurt other feels the pain.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Qualities of a Good Friend

True friends come with a variety of qualities which makes them someone special in one’s life. Here we are pointing some qualities of a true friend and its impact on friendship:

• Good listeners- It is necessary for a friend to be a good listener. Therefore, without the ability to listen, your friendship will be shallow.
• Being compassionate- True friends should always be compassionate with each other. They must be able to sympathize regardless of whether or not they agree with the crisis their friends are facing
• Loyalty- True friends should always be loyal to each other. A good friend should never betray you in any way, talk about you behind your back nor do anything else that questions your friendship.
• Trust – Good friends should be trustworthy. One should have friends to whom you can be able to tell all your secrets without any fear of them telling other people about them later.
• Support – Good friends should always be available for support. You should have friends with whom you can be sure for any help and support.
• Reliable – A good friend is one to whom you can rely on for anything.

Life of a human being is full of ups and downs.  So, on each stage of life, everyone needs someone who can understand and support with no expectation. Those special people are called a true friend. Friendship can be between two people of any age, any gender or any background. True Friends have always their special place in anyone’s life. True friendship is always possible only by heart and not by mind.

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Essays About Best Friends: 5 Essay Examples and 7 Prompts

If you’re writing an essay and want to put your best friend in the spotlight, check out these essay examples on essays about best friends. 

Best friends are those with whom we have formed a deep and unique bond. What makes them remarkably special is that we chose them unlike with family. For this, some even consider their best friends to be extensions of themselves. 

We all trust our best friends wholeheartedly; that’s why they are the best people to confide in. And many of the lasting memories in our lives are those that we create with them. These memories could be filled with waves of boisterous laughter or even the most piercing pain when your friendship is tested.

Read on and find essay examples and prompts that could motivate you to write about best friends.

5 Essay Examples

1. how friendships change in adulthood by julie beck, 2. diamonds are not this girl’s best friend by courtney carver, 3. how to tell your best friend you’re in love with them – by those who have taken the plunge by sirin kale, 4. my best friend died: a real-life guide to coping by gabrielle applebury, 5. is it normal to not have a best friend by viktor sander, 7 helpful writing prompts on essays about best friends, 1. describe your best friend, 2. hanging out with your best friend , 3. long distance friendship, 4. cutting off toxic best friends, 5. falling in love with your best friend, 6. famous literary friendships, 7. a dog is a man’s best friend.

“Hanging out with a set of lifelong best friends can be annoying, because the years of inside jokes and references often make their communication unintelligible to outsiders. But this sort of shared language is part of what makes friendships last.”

The above essay delves into the evolution of friendship throughout the different stages of our lives, from childhood and teen years to family life and retirement. While we have all deferred a meetup with friends several times to attend to family and work, many people still treat their friendship as stable and continuous, even in long lapses in communication. 

You might also find these essays about camping trips helpful.

“My best friend is a magical, rooftop sunrise. My best friend is the ocean. My best friend is a hike in the mountains. My best friend is a peaceful afternoon. My best friend is a really good book. My best friend is laughter. My best friend is seeing the world. My best friend is time with people I love.”

This essay takes on a broader definition of a “best friend,” deriving from Marilyn Monroe’s famous quote: “Diamond are a girl’s best friend.” From having excessive material wants for every occasion, the author realizes that the greatest “friends” in life are not material things but the simple joys that nature and love can bring.

“It was supposed to go the way things do in the movies. Nora would tell her best friend that she loved him, he would feel the same way and then they would kiss – preferably in the rain. So when the 30-year-old arts manager declared her love for her best friend when they were still teenagers, she expected a happy ending.”

Check out these essays about beauty .

The essay by Srirn Kale treats its readers to compelling stories of best friends ending up in marriage and those parting ways because of unrequited love. But, before taking the bold step of declaring your love for your best friend, a relationship guru advises lovers first to read the signs that signal any reciprocity of these deep feelings. 

“Losing a best friend may be one of the most difficult and heartbreaking experiences you have in your lifetime. If you aren’t sure how to process that your best friend died, know that there are many healthy options when it comes to coping with this type of loss.”

Coping with losing a best friend could lead to depression or even suicidal thoughts, especially if your best friend means the world to you. Some coping tips include journaling your grieving process to understand your emotions and confusion better and doing things that can relive your best friend’s memories. 

“If you are happy with the friends you currently have, there’s no need to try making a best friend for the sake of it. You might have friends but no best friend; that’s perfectly OK. It’s not necessary to have a BFF.” 

Not everyone has a best friend. Some would find this fact hard to believe, but a YouGov survey has shown that 1 in 5 of the US population claims to have no close friends. The essay, therefore, explores the reasons for this friendlessness and gives tips on building a bond with potential best friends, starting with your existing circle of acquaintances.

Check out our top writing prompts to help you celebrate and write about best friends.

Begin this essay by describing what your best friend looks like and what traits you like most about them. Then, given these qualities, would you consider your best friend a role model? Your essay can also answer how similar you and your best friend are and what things you both agree on. But if you have more differences than similarities, write how you deal with them or put them aside.

In this essay, describe your favorite ways to hang out with your best friend. What do you like doing together? Describe what a day spent with your best friend looks like and which part you like most about your dates. If your conversations draw your mutual admiration for each other, then talk about what topics make you talk for hours on end and their perspectives on things that you find fascinating.

Do different time zones make friends grow apart? Or does distance make the heart grow fonder? First, interview two to three people whose best friends moved to a different country or city. Next, learn how frequently they communicate with each other. Finally, compile these stories and make a smooth transition to each one such that the structure highlights the challenges of long-distance friendships and how each set of friends gets by. 

Discarding best friends is a hard decision. But it is also brave if you feel they are dragging you down. For this prompt, you can pose a list of questions readers can ask themselves to grasp the situation better. For example, is your friend doing you more harm than good? Have you set boundaries that they find hard to respect? Then, explain how reflecting on each question can help one determine when it is time to cut some ties loose.

Falling in love with your best friend can only end in two scenarios: a happy ever after or an end of a beautiful relationship. Expanding on our essay prompt above, list down more tips to know when it is best to confront your best friend about your feelings or work hard to quash your emotions for the continuity of the relationship.

Pick out best friends from novels that formed friendships that touched you the most. They could be Harry, Ron, Hermoine of Harry Potter, Frodo, Sam of the Lord Of The Rings, or even Sherlock and Watson From The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes. First, describe what it is in their friendship that you find most riveting. Then, narrate events that served as the biggest tests to their friendships and how they conquered these challenges. 

What about dogs that some people find more lovable than others? Answer this in your essay by outlining the traits that make a dog the ideal best friend. For one, their loyalty makes us confident that they will not betray us. If you have a dog, write about the qualities that make your dog a reliable and fun companion. Then, narrate events when your dog proved to be your best friend. 

If you’re still stuck, check out our general resource of essay writing topics . 

If you want to ensure that your thoughts flow smoothly in your essay, check out our guide packed full of transition words for essays .

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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How to Make Friends in College and Build Your Social Circle

Studies have shown that college students who establish strong social networks tend to perform better academically and experience lower levels of stress. When you have a supportive circle of friends, you not only have a group to enjoy your college years with but also a resource to share study tips, tackle assignments together, and provide emotional support during stressful times.

How to Make Friends in College: Short Description

In this article, the expert team at our essay writing service will delve into the art of making friends in college. We will explore highly effective strategies that can assist you in forging deep and meaningful connections. These relationships can not only enhance your academic performance but also contribute significantly to your overall well-being during your college years and beyond. Throughout this article, we will provide an in-depth analysis of the following steps, demonstrating that building friendships in college is not as challenging as it may seem.

Find a Study Buddy

Explore on-campus employment opportunities, proactively reach out, participate in campus activities and volunteer, extend invitations for social gatherings, complete your assignments in social environments, accept social invitations positively, engage in a campus club or sports team, embrace diversity and connect with different individuals, 3 key tips for making friends in college.

While making friends in college might appear daunting, it's an essential aspect of the college experience that can greatly enrich your life both academically and personally. Whether you're an introvert looking to step out of your comfort zone or an extrovert seeking to expand your social circle, here are three key tips to help you successfully navigate the art of forming meaningful friendships and address how to make new friends in college as an introvert.

1. Be Proactive and Approachable

• One of the most important steps in making friends is taking the initiative. Don't wait for others to come to you; be proactive and approachable. Smile, make eye contact, and engage in conversations with your peers. Attend social events, join clubs, and participate in activities that interest you. When you're open and approachable, you send a signal that you're interested in connecting with others, making it easier for potential friends to approach you.

2. Seek Out Common Interests

• Shared interests provide a strong foundation for building friendships. Explore your hobbies and passions and look for opportunities to connect with others who share those interests. Whether it's joining a club related to your major, participating in sports, or attending group meetings, these shared activities create natural conversation starters and bonding opportunities. It's often easier to connect with people who have similar interests because you already have something in common.

3. Be a Good Listener and Show Genuine Interest

• Building friendships is not just about talking; it's equally about listening. Show genuine interest in others by actively listening to what they have to say. Ask questions and show empathy when they share their experiences or concerns. People appreciate when they feel heard and valued, and this can foster deeper connections. Remembering and referencing details from previous conversations can also demonstrate your interest. Additionally, addressing how to be confident in school can play a significant role in your social interactions and overall college experience.

Meanwhile, if you prefer to socialize and build friendships while managing your workload instead of staying up all night, seeking support from others is valuable. If you face academic challenges, there are resources at your disposal to help, including the option to buy essay or buy college papers from our team of experts.

How to Meet Friends in College: Your Best Guide to Building Friendships

So far, we've explored three essential tips for making friends in college, but there's more to uncover on this exciting journey of building lasting friendships. In the following paragraphs, we will delve deeper into the intricacies of college social life and provide you with additional valuable insights and strategies.

When it comes to knowing how to make new friends in college, finding a study buddy can be a game-changer. Not only do study partners provide academic support, but they also offer a natural pathway to forming meaningful friendships. Here's how to make the most of this opportunity:

• Join Study Groups: Participate in organized study groups or peer tutoring sessions. These are excellent environments for meeting fellow students who share your academic goals.
• Leverage Online Platforms: Many colleges have online forums and social media groups dedicated to academic discussions. Use these platforms to express your interest in finding a study partner, and you're likely to connect with like-minded students.
• Nurture Collaboration: Once you've found a study buddy, focus on reliability and collaboration. Show up punctually for study sessions, actively engage in discussions, and be open to sharing your knowledge and learning from your partner. A strong study partnership often evolves into a lasting friendship.

On-campus jobs, including online summer jobs , not only provide financial support but also create unique socialization opportunities. Here's how to maximize these opportunities:

• Seek On-Campus Employment : Look for job openings within the campus community, including online summer jobs that allow you to work remotely. Working alongside fellow students can lead to meaningful connections.
• Engage with Colleagues : Interact with your coworkers and colleagues, whether in person or virtually, for online summer jobs. Strike up conversations, learn about their interests, and share your own.
• Attend Job-Related Events : Many on-campus jobs, including online summer jobs, host events or gatherings, which may be held virtually. Attend these functions to expand your social network beyond the workplace.

Taking the initiative to connect with others is a crucial skill for making friends in college. Here's how to do it effectively:

• Participate in Social Events: Attend campus events, club meetings, and extracurricular activities. These are prime opportunities to meet new people.
• Initiate Conversations: Don't be afraid to start conversations. Express your interests and ask questions to get to know others better.
• Embrace New Experiences: Be open to new experiences and friendships. College is a time to broaden your horizons, so don't limit yourself to familiar faces or comfort zones.

Engaging in campus activities and volunteering not only enriches your college experience but also opens doors to new friendships. Here's how to how to make friends in college with these opportunities:

• Join Clubs and Organizations: Explore the wide range of clubs and organizations on college campuses. Whether it's a cultural club, a hobby group, or a student association related to your major, these groups provide a built-in community of like-minded individuals.
• Attend Volunteer Events: Participate in volunteer initiatives or community service projects. Volunteering not only allows you to give back but also introduces you to others who share your commitment to making a positive impact.
• Show Consistent Participation: Regularly attend meetings and events related to your chosen activities or volunteer work. Consistency will help you forge deeper connections with fellow participants.

Initiating social gatherings is a proactive way to cultivate friendships, particularly when it comes to making friends in college. Here's how to go about it:

• Plan Informal Hangouts: Organize casual get-togethers, like movie nights, game nights, or potluck dinners. These low-pressure gatherings provide an excellent platform for bonding.
• Include Diverse Groups: Invite a mix of people, including acquaintances and potential new friends. A varied guest list can lead to interesting and diverse conversations.
• Be Inclusive: Encourage inclusivity and make an effort to introduce people to one another. Creating a welcoming atmosphere fosters a sense of belonging.

Exploring the longest words in English can be a fascinating linguistic journey, but studying in social environments is also crucial for connecting with classmates and potentially leading to lasting friendships. Here's how to do it effectively:

Study Group:

• Choose Common Study Spots: Identify popular study locations on campus, such as libraries, coffee shops, or study lounges, where you can form or join study groups. Studying in these areas increases your chances of meeting others who share your academic interests and can be conducive to productive group study sessions.

Effort in Making Friends:

• Strike Up Conversations: Making new friends requires conscious effort. Don't hesitate to initiate conversations with your fellow students while studying or attending campus events. Ask questions about their interests, exchange stories, or discuss shared experiences to nurture these connections.

Attending Sporting Events:

• Attend Sporting Events: To expand your social circle and embrace the college experience, attend sporting events and cheer for your team. These events offer a great platform for connecting with fellow fans and experiencing the campus spirit together.

Finding Campus Events:

• Find Campus Events: To stay engaged and meet new people, actively seek out campus events. Attend lectures, workshops, and social gatherings to discover like-minded individuals who share your interests and passions beyond the classroom.

When it comes to knowing how to make friends in college first day, especially, saying 'yes' to social invitations is key. Here's how to make the most of these opportunities:

• Be Open-Minded: Embrace invitations even if they take you out of your comfort zone. Accepting invites to parties, gatherings, or outings can introduce you to diverse groups of people.
• Show Enthusiasm: Approach social events with a positive attitude. Your enthusiasm and willingness to engage in conversations can make you more approachable and memorable to others.
• Follow-Up: After attending a social event, follow up with people you've met. Send a friendly message expressing your enjoyment and interest in future get-togethers.

Joining a campus club or sports team, especially when considering essay topics on sports , offers a structured way to meet new people and share common interests. Here's how to make the most of this opportunity:

• Choose Your Passion: Select a club or sports team that aligns with your interests. Whether it's a chess club, a hiking group, or a soccer team, pursuing your passion will connect you with like-minded individuals.
• Attend Meetings and Practices: Regularly participate in club meetings or team practices. Consistent involvement helps you build relationships with teammates and fellow enthusiasts.
• Contribute Actively: Get involved beyond attendance. Volunteer for club activities or take on responsibilities within your sports team. Active participation fosters a sense of belonging and camaraderie.

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In a diverse college environment, embracing differences can lead to rich and meaningful friendships. Here's how to do it:

• Attend Cultural Events: Explore cultural events, international nights, or diversity forums on campus. These events provide a platform to learn about different cultures and connect with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Seek Out Diverse Perspectives: Engage in conversations with people who have different beliefs, backgrounds, and experiences from your own. Learning from others can broaden your horizons and deepen your connections.
• Practice Empathy: Approach interactions with empathy and an open heart. Empathizing with others and seeking to understand their perspectives fosters genuine connections.

Conversation Icebreakers for International Students

Building friendships as an international student can be both exciting and challenging. While you bring a unique perspective to the table, it's essential to break the ice effectively. Here are some insightful conversation icebreakers tailored to international students when it comes to learning how to make new friends in college:

Cultural Exchange

• 'I'm originally from [Your Country]. Have you ever been there, or is there anything you're curious about regarding my culture?'
• 'Do you have any favorite international cuisines, or have you tried any unique dishes from around the world?'

Language Exchange

• 'Would you like to learn a few words or phrases in my native language? I'd love to learn some phrases from yours, too.'
• 'What's the most challenging or interesting word to pronounce in your language, and can you teach me how to say it correctly?'

Travel Stories

• 'Have you had any memorable travel experiences? I once went to [Share a Travel Destination] and had this amazing encounter...'
• 'If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?'

Campus Discoveries

• 'I'm still exploring the campus and surrounding area. Are there any hidden gems or must-visit places you recommend?'
• 'What has been your favorite campus event or local activity since you arrived here?'

These specific questions not only serve as effective icebreakers but also encourage engaging and meaningful conversations, helping you understand how to make friends in college if you are shy and connect more deeply with your peers.

In essence, making friends in college is an art that requires initiative, openness, and a willingness to connect with others from diverse backgrounds. By proactively engaging in social opportunities, embracing your uniqueness, and showing genuine interest in those around you, you can forge meaningful friendships that will enhance your college experience and extend far beyond the campus gates.

Why Let Assignments Hold You Back from Amazing Experiences with Friends?

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Student Opinion

15 Prompts for Talking and Writing About Friendship

Questions to help students reflect on the meaning of friendship in their lives

By Natalie Proulx

Who are your closest friends? How much do you share with them? Do you actually like your friends? What have you learned from them?

Below, we’ve rounded up 15 questions we’ve asked students over the years all about friendship. You can use them as prompts for writing or discussion, inside the classroom or out. We hope they’ll inspire you to reflect on your friendships, consider how you can strengthen the ones you have, and motivate you to reach out and make new ones.

Each prompt includes an excerpt from a related New York Times article, essay or photo; a link to the related piece; and several questions to help you think deeply about it. Many of these questions are still open for comment from students 13 or older.

You can find even more ideas for teaching and learning about friendship in our related lesson plan: How Students Can Cultivate Meaningful Friendships Using The New York Times .

1. Who Are Your Friends?

Do you have a “best friend,” a few close friends or a large group of friends? What interests, experiences, passions and circumstances forge those relationships? What are some of your favorite memories or admirable characteristics you associate with your friends?

Use this Picture Prompt to talk or write about your most important friendships.

2. How Alike Are You and Your Friends?

Did you know there is science behind how we choose our friends? Research has shown that we tend to befriend people who are much like us in a wide array of characteristics, including age, race, religion, even our handgrip strength.

In this prompt , you’ll read more about the things that bond us, and then share what you and your friends have in common.

3. Do You Have Any Unlikely Friendships?

Though we tend to connect with people who are like us, sometimes friendship happens with someone we’d least expect. That was the case for Spencer Sleyon, a 22-year-old rapper and producer from East Harlem, and Rosalind Guttman, an 81-year-old woman living in a retirement community in Florida, who met playing the Words With Friends game.

Do you have any surprising friendships like this one?

4. How Much Do You Share With Your Friends?

Do you often express your innermost thoughts, feelings and struggles to those closest to you? Or do you tend to keep those things to yourself? Being vulnerable can be scary, but research shows it’s important for building connections with others.

Use this prompt to reflect on what it feels like to open up to your friends, and how you might try to do more of it.

5. Do You Have Satisfying Friendships?

Are internet friendships as fulfilling as in-person ones? In a guest essay, a writer argues that “The kind of presence required for deep friendship does not seem cultivated in many online interactions. Presence in friendship requires ‘being with’ and ‘doing for.’”

Do you agree? Can online “friends” be true friends? Share your opinion.

6. Do You Have Any Close Friends?

Do you prefer to have many casual friends or just a few close ones? What makes a person a “best” friend? Do you wish you had more close friendships? This prompt explores these questions and more, as well as shares expert advice for developing deeper friendships.

7. How Do You React When Your Friendships Change?

Have you ever become less close to a friend over time? Have you ever felt jealousy when your friend joined another friend group? Have you ever had a friendship just fizzle out? These kinds of changes happen all the time, but they can be difficult to navigate.

Tell us what you do when you feel a friendship start to shift.

8. Do Social Media and Smartphones Make Your Friendships Stronger?

Does being able to stay constantly in touch with your friends via social media, texting and location sharing strengthen your friendships and make them easier to maintain? Or does it do the opposite? Weigh in with your experiences on this prompt .

9. Do You Like Your Friends?

It may sound like a strange question, but a 2016 study found that only about half of perceived friendships are mutual. That means you might not even like someone who thinks of you as a best friend. And vice versa.

Is this is true for any of your relationships?

10. How Often Do You Text Your Friends Just to Say ‘Hi’?

When was the last time you texted, called, emailed or messaged a friend just to say “hello”? Research suggests casual check-ins might mean more than we realize. Do you underestimate how much your friends would like hearing from you?

Read what experts have to say and then share your thoughts.

11. Is It Harder for Men and Boys to Make and Keep Friends?

American men appear to be stuck in a “friendship recession,” according to a recent survey. Less than half of men said they were truly satisfied with the number of friendships they had. The same study also found that men are less likely than women to seek emotional support from or share personal feelings with their friends.

Does this reflect your experience? Weigh in.

12. Do You Have Any Intergenerational Friendships?

“When applying to my job, I had no idea of the friendships I would be making with 70+ year old women. They teach me new things every day while I hear their life stories and things they have done,” Laura from Ellisville wrote in response to this prompt.

Do you have any friends who are significantly younger or older than you? What do you think we can gain from these kinds of intergenerational friendships? Tell us here.

13. Have You Ever Been Left Out?

Imagine it’s a Saturday. All your friends told you they were busy, so you’re sitting at home, alone, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. But then you see a post that stops you in your tracks. It’s a picture of all of your friends hanging out together — without you. This is what happened to Hallie Reed in her first semester at college.

Has something like this ever happened to you? Use this prompt to talk or write about how it felt.

14. What Have Your Friends Taught You About Life?

“My friends taught me different perspectives on life.” “My friends have taught me to not care what other people think.” “My friends have taught me to be myself.”

These are just a few of the responses teenagers had to this prompt. What have your friends taught you?

15. Have You Ever Had a Significant Friendship End?

Few relationships are meant to last forever. In a guest essay, Lauren Mechling writes that “even bonds founded on that rare, deeply felt psychic connection between two people” are “bound to fray.”

Have you experienced this with someone with whom you were once very close? What happened? Share your story.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Natalie Proulx joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2017 after working as an English language arts teacher and curriculum writer. More about Natalie Proulx

How to Make Friends

Clare Coffey

Phoneless, Carless, Friendless

• The Joy of Losing Your Phone
• Driven Apart

This life probably sounds like hell to some dyed-in-the-wool introverts. But I think, compared to many more people, I am exceptionally fortunate in my small-town routine.

Everyone seems to be having a hard time making friends these days. A recent survey by Cigna found that Americans are getting lonelier, with the perverse flourish of the youngest feeling the most isolated. But it isn’t only a 2020s phenomenon. Ever since Bowling Alone , the complaint has manifested over and over in different forms. Men don’t form deep bonds with each other — which you can blame either on the patriarchal extraction of emotional labor from wives or on the feminists making McSorley’s Old Ale House in New York City admit women in 1970. Moms are isolated — again, depending on whom you ask, by the patriarchy or the feminists. Young people have social anxiety. On top of this, as we so often hear, is the problem of introverts, who lack real-life avenues that mimic the low-commitment availability of what’s available on the Internet.

But maybe those very online introverts are on to something. For good reasons, we are used to thinking of low-commitment or low-effort relationships as less fulfilling than the alternatives. But we may be suffering by their absence specifically.

The intimacy of mind and heart that characterizes the deepest form of friendship is rare, but it is also undiminished by small quantities: one friend like this is enough for a lifetime. What is harder to find in adequate abundance is low-stakes, time-flexible friendships of camaraderie and affection that do not require deep intimacy.

When this type of friendship appears in cultural representation, it’s usually through the friend group — the professional, unattached collection of twenty-to-thirty-somethings who populate shows like Friends and How I Met Your Mother , friends who mutually provide the audience for each other’s quips and the theater for each other’s antics.

This type of friendship may be difficult to realize off-screen. It falls between two stools, requiring existing social capital to cultivate, without necessarily providing much reward in depth of relationship. Its internal structure does not allow for persistence through the formation of permanent attachments, or much engagement with the outside world beyond different forms of consumption. It is not made to grow; it is made to be looked at.

But there is another type of diffuse, porous, low-intensity friendship. Civic friendship is based around shared ownership of something external, rather than internal homogeneity. Its value is in the nodes of its network, not the strength of its defined boundaries.

In trying to develop these civic friendships, you are staring down the horns of two very powerful technologies: the automobile primarily , and the smartphone secondarily .

Any town or city built around the automobile will, to varying degrees, be harder to develop friendships of serendipity in. If you have to get in a car to go somewhere, and if a critical mass of people do not more or less work where they live, the overall volume and complexity of criss-crossing networks of movement will shrink. The default will be to see only the people you mean to see on purpose.

The smartphone’s effect is in comparison minor, but it matters. I don’t mean in the sense of those insufferable coffee shops that ban phones so as to force you to enact Socratic dialogues and manic-pixie meet-cutes with your neighbor; just that the way that the phone engrosses attention is different from the way a puzzle, a book, or even a computer does. It requires positive attention to look away rather than to keep looking at it. It fills up little spaces and silences, little cracks for serendipity, more completely and less porously than anything else. It offers a complete world in which the algorithm, a more perfect hostess than any of us, is always shepherding you toward the groups you will find most congenial. It is superior to physical life in every way, except that it isn’t.

The game is rigged against you, and it will take major shifts in American life to unrig it.

All right, so the game is rigged against you. Now what?

You still have to live, you still want to make friends. Trying in a hostile environment will yield less fruit than trying in an ideal environment, but more than doing nothing in either. Here is a primer.

1. Develop a routine around the same physical places as much as you can, ideally including one or two designed for extended stays: a coffee shop, a park, a bar, a lunch counter.

If you live in a dead zone of strip malls and Starbucks drive-throughs, you will have to be inventive and do the best you can. But to the extent possible, they should be places you genuinely like and enjoy being in. You will, without realizing, take many of your cues from the atmosphere around you; you will be at your best if you are genuinely having a nice time — not necessarily a good time, but a nice time. Include in your routine some visits that do not involve the kind of deep work that requires headphones and unbroken concentration. Reading a book for pleasure or doing less-taxing work allows you to observe, and to indulge pleasant interruptions if they come along.

If you are able to find a place that is one of the pulse points of your town’s life — as the coffee shop my neighbor runs is — all the better. How will you identify these pulse points? Well, one tiny tell at the coffee shop is that people occasionally receive their mail there. A bigger one is that the owner knows simply everybody, especially figures in local government and business. A third is that all kinds of people gather there, at different times of day: soccer moms pushing strollers for lattes in the morning, college students studying in the afternoon, pillars of local industry for lunch meetings, curmudgeons and eccentrics of all types for the happy hour beer and smoke at the outside tables.

There are a few reasons why establishing a consistent routine is helpful. First, if you are the type of person whose relative isolation is driven by social anxiety, you will be able to get acclimated and comfortable in a space before trying anything new. You will be able to watch the interactions and develop a sense of the dynamics. If you return to the same places over and over, you will not be burdened by the sense that each visit is your one and only chance to wring as much social interaction as you can from the encounter. You can take things at your own pace.

Second, repetition will open up little doors. As you start to see the same people and they start to recognize you, day after day, there will eventually be an opportunity with someone or other for a shared reaction, a quip, a question. Perhaps this will lead to a friendship, perhaps not. But it will create a fluid matrix of interaction with others: a stream in which you swim, rather than a fortress you must attack. It will provide a key to your social context. And being a part of that context, rather than just an onlooker, is where things start to happen. Sociality is more like good garden soil than a video game. You cannot utilize input–output models that deliver predictable results. You can only add the compost, the mulch, that creates the conditions for the web of life. Which microscopic part of that web is agent in producing the food that nourishes the gardener is impossible to isolate.

Even places not designed for extended stays are important, especially smaller businesses. Chat, just a little bit, not enough to hold up the line, wherever you can: with the grocery store checkout worker, with the post office clerk, with the antique store proprietor. Ask them how their day was and remember things they tell you for next time. You will be surprised at how much better this can make you feel, if you are lonely — how important a role the slender and impersonal, but warm and omnipresent, bonds of civic friendship with the people of goodwill all around you can play in your life.

2. Participate in the drama of the street.

Granted, the joyful agonistic dialogues that converge, erupt, and resolve just as quickly punctuate the day less in polite Nordic-settled small towns than on the streets of Mexico City or New York. But the little theaters are still there. Someone is moving furniture into a house: offer to help them. Someone is walking an enormous Great Dane: ask if you can pet him. Someone is parking a tricked-out car: nice ride . Someone is gardening in her front yard: hope you still have enough time to get your bulbs in yourself .

Also: Don’t be afraid to get into quarrels with people if they arise. Too often, for people afraid of engaging in a fracas or appearing the bad guy, the only safe option is avoiding large swaths of humanity altogether.

Squabbling conventions will largely be governed by the norms of where you live. A good metric for how aggressively you can fight is how loudly and expressively people tend to talk in normal conversations. But in any case the key is to not be afraid, and to be willing to admit that you are in the wrong if you are. Last time I was in New York, I got into a shouting match with a building superintendent. Having cursed each other out thoroughly, we parted and cooled off. I came out, apologized (I was absolutely in the wrong, as usual), he said to forget about it, and now I have a standing invitation to come look him up whenever I’m in the city.

3. Engage in small talk; it is your friend.

Small talk makes no personal claim and requires no disclosure even as it connects people. There is enough variety in the weather, in your surroundings, in the incidental happenings going on around you for as much conversation as you need.

Simple neighborly chat may indeed annoy someone who prefers not to be bothered, but here too you can take up your roles in the little drama — grump and Pollyanna — and negotiate a peace. The goal must be outward-directed beneficence and respect; it cannot be controlling how others perceive you such that the safest thing to be is always invisible. And you cannot by any means give in to the idea that the right to be left alone is so absolute, fundamental, and overriding that it constitutes a default state that should never be impinged upon, however respectfully. The rare eccentrics who really need to live like that find islands on which they can do so.

Never pass up the opportunity to do someone a favor. Never pass up the opportunity to accept help or ask someone questions about an area where they have more practical knowledge than you.

4. Invite your neighbors over.

This perhaps should be the prime directive, since it’s the one almost everyone can manage — in an apartment building, in a bungalow, on a city block or in a sprawling subdivision, congratulations, you have neighbors.

Invite them over for something low-effort and fairly generic — once you have made their acquaintance you can discover if they share your interest in tabletop games or hiking — like grilling, beers, and dessert. You don’t need to know their names. Put a note on the door with your name, address, phone number, and a message that you’d love to have them over for a specific something on a specific date.

It must be a specific date, any time you are trying to make a new acquaintance. Time-specific invitations keep the lethal administrative burden of trying to coordinate calendars to a minimum. It minimizes awkward conversations. And it makes it easy for the other party to refuse if they want to without either of you losing face. If they do plead busyness, try again in two weeks. If that also fails, leave them alone unless they reach out to you.

5. If you have any kind of front yard that interfaces with the street (a stoop counts), spend time in it.

Plant a garden; the plants and critters are your neighbors too, and will bring you good luck. Working on it will give you a reason to be outside, an inexhaustible source of small talk, a reason to seek advice from your neighbors. Besides, a front garden with some density and height is helpful in creating a less-exposed plane relative to the street, and in making it more likely that you will actually spend time in your yard. Nobody really enjoys spending time in a flat, empty front lawn. You feel too much like a scarecrow.

Put down some Adirondack chairs and drink your morning coffee or evening beer in them. You create theaters for the drama of the street this way, and opportunities to flirt. If you see passersby, give them at least a nod and a smile. If they say “beautiful evening,” offer them a beer. They will say yes or no, they may think you charming or a lunatic, but it doesn’t really matter which.

6. Join things.

I understand if you don’t want to. I am not much of a joiner myself. But if you don’t easily make friends and would like to, it would be foolish to let that stop you. If you knit, play, do tabletop roleplay games, or play basketball, there is probably some kind of organized meetup somewhere.

Do not join a church you do not have some basic level of belief in just to make friends. That is both violating your own integrity and simply begging God to play tricks on you. Here’s what you can do, though. Write to the church secretary (or equivalent at the synagogue or madrasa) and say that, while not a person of faith yourself, you’d like to get to know your neighbors of faith better and support the church’s charitable community efforts, and are there any upcoming events that might be suitable?

Join the Elks or the Lions, the Knights of Columbus or the Polish American Civic Association. You might find it awkward, dull, or corny at first, but do you want to be a friend or do you want to be cool? The desire to be a friend sees everyone as interesting, as they are. It seeks greater ingress into the social and physical reality around you. The desire to be cool desires glamor and thrills; it sees people who cannot provide these as NPCs.

The best thing you can join is any kind of civic organization or effort. You can attend city council and zoning board meetings, join river cleanups and historical societies, become a friend of the library. You will connect yourself to more pulse points in your community’s social network this way. You will find, especially with immediately practical projects, an easy basis for comradeship among people who care about where they live and want to serve it. And after you’ve joined, if you’re so inclined, there is nothing stopping you from launching your own initiative, from looking around you and saying, what would make this place better?

To launch your own initiative, you will need to invite people to things. Actually, once you have gotten yourself on a well-established acquaintanceship footing with a few people, you should already be doing this.

How? The same way all of these prescriptions are done: with resolve in the attempt and detachment from the results. Think of someone you wouldn’t mind spending more time with. When you next run into them, say, “Hey, any interest in coming with me to this [always date-specific] event?” Do not ask people this while they are on the clock in any capacity. As always, this prescription is liable to exceptions, but exceptions are for those who have mastery of the subject at hand.

Where will you find things to go to? Join as many local Facebook groups as you can. You can find ones for buying and selling and trading, for gardeners, for backyard chicken producers looking to offload their extra eggs. Join them all. When you’re in the car, listen to local radio stations. The ads can be very useful in keeping you apprised of goings-on. Subscribe to local papers and alt-weeklies, insofar as they still exist. Take a look at the Craigslist community section. Not only will you find events and volunteer opportunities, the “activities” section will have people advertising for a hiking partner, a frisbee partner, what-have-you. It is not difficult to safely take a chance on one of these.

Read those community bulletin boards that sit in libraries, rec centers, town squares, grocery stores. There will be events of various kinds. Go to them, even if they don’t sound fun to you, even if you don’t have company. At the very least, there will be some anthropological interest at the UFO Encounter Survivor Group. And don’t worry about showing up to the Basil E. Frankweiler Memorial Park Annual Concert by yourself. You will only seem as weird as you feel, and most people don’t have enough investment in you to think about it much either way. Insofar as someone is by temperament more naturally interested in the lives of strangers than most people are, they will be more likely to invite you to join their party than to laugh at you.

7. Finally, some fun advice: go to bars.

Do not go to places with clean marble bars and house cocktails or thoughtful wine lists or whimsical décor. Do not go to craft breweries with industrial lighting. Do not go to any place that specializes in a particular product, unless you genuinely want to treat yourself to the product or are there for some kind of activity, like trivia. These bars are often a drain on the wallet, and you want to be there regularly. And they are not really hangout bars.

Instead, go to the slightly seedy local places with cheap beer and some old men. If they have a pool table or a dart board, all the better. You need no introduction at a pool table. Don’t go on Saturday nights, especially if you have colleges nearby. Go in the later afternoon to early evening, before the real nighttime partiers arrive, between Wednesday and Friday. Sit at the bar. If you need something to do, bring a crossword puzzle. A crossword will keep you from needing someone to talk to you while inviting co-operative efforts. And you can always ask the bar if anyone has “bibulous insect, six letters” if you need to break the ice.

You will probably find that people talk to you, though, especially when it’s a quiet evening. Most people go to bars to talk, and there are many lonely people eager for someone to listen. Letting a beloved old crank tell you about his recipe for rattlesnake has been someone’s entrée into the social scene at a bar at least once.

But at a bar, won’t you mostly meet heavy drinkers and burnouts? You will meet some, as well as loners and eccentrics of various kinds. However, you will mostly meet a lot of hardworking people who enjoy drinking, playing darts, watching a game, and seeing the pals they see every week. If you’re new in town, it’s the best way to meet people who have lived there their whole lives.

The key to making the bar work as a space for friendships to form is one of the keys to making friends in general. Do not assume that you can only be friends with people like you, whether that is age, sex, occupation, or politics. You can make friends with disabled veterans and widowed grandmothers and college students. You will find what they offer cannot be predicted.

All of this primer mostly amounts to the kindergarten dictum, “Make a friend, be a friend.” As such it is perhaps frustrating: It describes a posture of openness and habit of engagement rather than concrete steps that guarantee a certain number of friends. Unfortunately, this is simply the reality: Making friends easily is less about accomplishing certain actions than inhabiting a kind of persona.

The tricky converse is that making a habit of the actions develops the persona. You are probably not doomed to a feeling of squicky interloper status among your fellows forever, but you will have to suffer through repeated discomfort and artificial motions for longer than you’d like.

But you will suffer anyway. The patronage of the algorithm cannot in the end protect you from much — much less from the unkindness of strangers. How much better to suffer in exploring the depths of human nature, in pursuit of the sweet and wild world, than in the retreat from it.

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665 words essay on how to make friends

It is not easy to make friends. Real friends are rare in this world. Man is a social animal and instinctively seeks companions. We come across countless people but with everybody we do not make friends. The essential condition of friendship between two persons is affinity of mind, tastes, temperaments or pursuits.

We can make friends if we love people, if we are good and sincere to them and if we share their joys and sorrows. We are to make friends if we do to others as we would be done by. Friendship is a matter of give and take.

There cannot be all the ‘give’ on one side and all the ‘take’ on the other. Equal sacrifice on both sides is a pre-requisite of friendship. True friendship is possible only between two equals in age, similar in thoughts, views and achievements. An old man seeks the company of an old man, and a student that of a student, a fat man that of a fat man and a pious man that of a pious man.

We can make friends if we are ready with our sympathy for others in their times of trouble. Adversity is the touchstone of friendship. Two friends are like one soul living in two bodies.

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Friends made at school are life-long friends. They bring to us memories of those early days when life was young and free from all cares and worries. The friendship of Krishna and Sudama is a classical example of true friendship in our country.

Sudama is a poor Brahman yet when he goes to his old school friend Krishna, the latter hugs him to his bosom though he is then king and the idol of his people. Without telling him, he converts his poor life into a rich one.

If we think more of virtues than of shortcomings of other people. If we are open, plain and frank, we make friends who are sure to stand by us through thick and thin. We should exercise a good deal of self- control and sweet reasonableness in dealing with others, always trying to avoid misunderstanding and displaying a spirit of ‘forgive and forget’ if we want to gain friends.

We should not be soft-spoken flatterers who say what will give pleasure only, irrespective of whether it is true or false. We must speak out the simple truth, however unpalatable it may be, if it is for the good of others. We should always be sincere well-wishers of others, never sweet- mouthed sycophants.

To attract friends, we must ourselves be attractive. We should have a trustful nature. Trust alone begets trust. We should open our heart to a friend, holding back nothing. Secrecy is the poison that always destroys lasting friendship and so we must have no secret from a real friend.

We must be tolerant and forbearing. No man is all good. If we are always fault-finding, it will produce a feeling of natural irritation. This leads to estrangement. It is only when friendship is tested by the trials of life that faults may be pointed out without creating ill-will.

We must cultivate a spirit of harmony and proportion. We must not be too exacting. Having won a friend, we must nurture friendship with love and affection, we must constantly tend it with acts of kindness. Our aim must be to serve more than to exact, to give more than to receive. What is given must be without reserve, what is received must be recognized as a privilege.

A true friend is an unmixed blessing. He sweetens our life, heightens our joys and lightens our sorrow. Even death cannot separate such a friend from us. Friendship is like the sweet scent of the flowers of different colours and odours in a beautifully decorated vase.

It is a divine spark motivating our noble actions. It is a sweet song of a cuckoo, filling our hearts with joy and happiness. It is like a lighted match in a dark room.

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Friendship — My Experience In Friendship

My Experience in Friendship

• Categories: Admired Person Friendship

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Words: 714 |

Published: Nov 8, 2019

Words: 714 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Having a best friend

Works cited:.

• Smith, Zadie. "Find Your Beach." The New York Review of Books, 26 Nov. 2020. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2020/11/26/zadie-smith-find-your-beach/
• Whitehead, Colson. "City Limits." The New Yorker, 16 Aug. 1999. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/08/16/city-limits
• Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. HarperCollins, 1990.
• Diener, Ed, and Robert Biswas-Diener. Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth. Wiley-Blackwell, 2008.
• Fredrickson, Barbara L. Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive. Crown Publishers, 2009.
• Gilbert, Daniel. Stumbling on Happiness. Vintage, 2006.
• Haidt, Jonathan. The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. Basic Books, 2006.
• Kashdan, Todd B., and Robert Biswas-Diener. The Upside of Your Dark Side: Why Being Your Whole Self - Not Just Your "Good" Self - Drives Success and Fulfillment. Hudson Street Press, 2014.
• Seligman, Martin E. P. Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. Free Press, 2002.
• Snyder, C. R., and Shane J. Lopez. Handbook of Positive Psychology. Oxford University Press, 2005.

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How to start over, make new friends and refresh your network in 6 steps.

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Inevitably at some point in your journey you’ll look up and realize you don’t have as many friends or supportive colleagues as you’d like. If you had a thriving network at one point, but circumstances have changed and you’re finding yourself feeling disconnected and lonely more than before, you’re not alone. 29% of U.S. adults report having two or fewer close friends.

According to Pew Research Center, 61% of U.S. adults say having close friends is key to live a fulfilling life. As a point of comparison, only 23% of U.S. adults say that being married is important to a fulfilling life, only 26% believe having children creates fulfillment, and only 24% believe having a lot of money is very important to overall happiness.

If like the majority of Americans, having close friendships and connections is important to you, how can you proactively close the connection gap after a relocation, job change, or career pivot? How can you build more relationships after the ones you built earlier in life have run their course?

If you need a network building strategy instead of simply a networking strategy, here are six steps you can take to start over socially, make new friends, and refresh your network as an adult.

1 - Get clear on your interests then seek out communities that match those interests.

If you’ve recently relocated, had to move for school or work, or switched industries due to layoff or burnout you’re likely overwhelmed and potentially even exhausted. If that’s the case, you could probably use a social outlet unrelated to school or work to help you recharge.

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Luckily, we all have a natural charging system we can access at any time - our interests, hobbies, and passions. If you’ve put them on the back-burner due to a busy career season, I encourage you to tap back into these natural sources of energy and seek out communities of people who gather around your shared interests. People are generally thrilled to meet others who share their interests and passions - especially if those interests are rare.

What interests have you indulged in isolation or put on the back-burner altogether? Wherever you are now, try to find a workshop, class, or gathering where people are exploring that interest in community. Once you’re in, take note of who you meet.

2 - Tap into your school history.

Even if you weren’t active on campus, if there’s a local alumni group from your university days it’s possibly an automatic network you can tap to get plugged in to new people.

When it comes to school alumni groups, most people only consider who may resurface from their graduating class. But alumni groups welcome members who graduated well before and well after you did. There’s bound to be someone in the room whom you didn’t know when you were in school. And if you tap into class-specific alumni events, there will likely be someone you may have crossed paths with in the past whom you can get to know better now.

When possible, attend events in person. But if there aren’t any in-person events coming up in your local area, look for an alumni Facebook or LinkedIn group. There you can get plugged into quarterly or annual gatherings that may be happening around graduation, Convocation Days, or Homecoming celebrations.

3 - Find younger people to mentor and learn from.

If you’re starting over or in a position to refresh your network, you likely have some creative or professional skills you’ve been developing that could be helpful to younger professionals who are just starting out. Don’t let those skills go to waste - and more importantly don’t let them atrophy.

Go to local universities, ask about formal mentor match programs in your new organization, or tap into a religious community or place of worship. Let people know you’re available to share your knowledge. Seek out opportunities to mentor young professionals who can help you keep your skills sharp, add capacity to your future projects, expose the gaps in your current methods, and keep you up to date on current trends.

As you mature in your career, your network will mature as well. Naturally, your network will shrink as some colleagues retire and leave the workforce. Mentoring can be a great way to keep those numbers in your overall network balanced. By teaching others you give yourself meaning and purpose, position yourself to meet new people and put yourself in the mix to be introduced. You are also helping someone else or a group of people get ahead. It’s a win-win-win all around.

4 - Figure out how you can serve.

Get involved in at least one volunteer organization to give back while meeting new people. If you’re making a career pivot, do a little strategic sleuthing. Investigate the people you’d like to eventually connect with in this new industry or organization. Look them up on LinkedIn or search for news about them online. Where are already involved? What boards do they sit on? Which organizations have given them awards? Which fundraising events do they attend annually?

Once you know which organizations are the go-to organizations for the go-to people in your new industry, see how you can involved by volunteering, introducing yourself to organization leadership, and showing up for events.

5 - Create a new community of your own.

If you’ve tried tapping into the existing communities around you and you’re not quite satisfied, feel free to create the thing you wish existed. Many of the communities that spring up started from one person’s desire to connect around an interest or identity they didn’t see being served in the marketplace.

How to do it - You’re likely seeking to build a network because you don’t already have one, so convening others might not be as straightforward as announcing your new gathering to the people you know. Instead, you can start by attending whatever communities that do exist and scouting for new members for your group.

For example, if I wanted to create a group for “Moms over 40 who aspire to author books” I might go to existing writing groups to see if I could find moms over 40. I might go to mom groups to look for moms who are writers. I might go to a group of women over 40 and see if any of the women were also moms and writers. You get the idea.

A version of the same approach could be applied online. Facebook groups are a notorious way to build community around shared interests. They’re also a great way to determine the market for an interest. Using the strategy I shared above, you could create a group called “Writers and mothers over 40” and see who joins. Build a bit of community online first before taking it to an in-person.

6 - Create an intentional plan for connection.

While these are all strategies you can use to build your network and community, they’ll only work for you if you’re intentional about growing your network and vulnerable enough to put yourself out there. If you truly desire more connection in your life, decide what you can realistically do on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis to bring more connection into your life.

For example, once a week you can text or DM one person you haven’t talked to in a while just to see how they are. Once a week, you can attend a yoga or other class around your personal interest, or meet a new acquaintance for coffee or lunch to explore the connection. Each month you might attend an alumni gathering or meet with a group of younger professionals you’re mentoring. Quarterly perhaps you can gather a group of your newest connections for brunch or dinner in person so everyone can make a new friend. Annually you can plan to attend your industry’s big conference, your university’s homecoming festivities, or an event tied to your extracurricular interest.

As you can see, this strategy doesn’t take a ton of time, but it does require intention. If you take some time upfront to consider the ways it makes sense for you to deploy your time and invitations strategically, after a few months you will likely have an entirely refreshed network and set of connections.

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