Making friends in college is pretty easy-breezy for most people. Being constantly surrounded by unique individuals is bound to lead to some type of friendship, right? Although friends may be easy to come by, it can be a challenge get them to stick around. In other cases, after you’ve shed some light on your life, you better understand that you don’t actually want particular friends in your life. Both incidences reflect the type of artificial friendship that many people experience going through. Sure, it’s nice to be in the company of another person, but to actually have an authentic relationship with another person is a whole other story. Authentic friends can be hard to find, but rest assure they are indeed out there. Here are 10 ways you know you have struck gold in the friend department.

1. They do not take you for granted.

We all have those friends we would do anything for. You know, the friends we wake up at the dreaded 4 a.m. to pick up from the airport or the friends we sacrifice half of our food to because, heaven forbid, they didn’t listen to you and forgot to pack their own. True friends appreciate one another and show signs of gratitude.

2. They encourage you to achieve your goals.

Authentic friends refuse to let you give up. They are right alongside you on the exhausting, but an exuberant path of living. They always encourage you to follow your heart, even if at times your heart is telling you to act totally ridiculous, like start your own rainbow krabby patty food truck.

3. They are honest with you.

True friends know how to be up front and honest with you and are not afraid to have difficult conversations with you. They don’t necessarily tell you what you want to hear, but rather what you need to hear.

4. They love you for you.

I truly believe that friendships are what make us grow the most intellectually, spiritually and emotionally. Authentic friends accept you as yourself and love you no matter how strange you act sometimes. Friends make you a better version of yourself, as you do to them.

5. They stick around in the pleasant and unpleasant times.

The day you get married; they’re there. The day that you lose a loved one, they’re there. No questions asked.

6. They make you feel good about yourself.

True friends express their feelings of how proud they are when you are successful. They make a big deal out of small accomplishments. They celebrate you.

7. They forgive you.

As humans, we make mistakes and more often than not we take it out on the people that are closest to us. True friends do not give up on each other and they offer an infinite number of times that they are willing to forgive you.

8. They just know before you even tell them.

Isn’t it a little freaky when you have a bad day at school or work and you come home to find your friend sitting on your couch with a bucket of ice cream? Yeah, I thought so; no complaints here, though.

9. They share your faith.

Being in college, I have definitely come to realize that having real and vulnerable conversations with another person not only leads to a deeper connection with that person but also a more purposeful sense of being. Jesus says in the bible, “Love others as I love you,” and although there is no greater love than the love of God, pure friendship is sometimes the closest we can get here on earth.

10. They teach you how to be brave.

Sometimes it takes another person to see the potential you have locked away. Having a friend by your side as you make a leap of faith makes all the difference.

11. They inspire you.

Authentic friends challenge you to live your life as the best possible version of yourself and aid you as you continually grow as a person. This is the type of friend who changes your life and inspires YOU to one day be that authentic friend to another person.