I know it seems shocking but this does not make me a bad friend. On the contrary, having your own opinions and preferences makes you a more balanced person and more supportive friend.

It's like this: having the different preferences for a romantic partner between you and your BFF is considered a relief then why is having different preferences for a friend seen as an anomaly?

Seems like we are all living under the misconception that romantic partners are more important than friends (which wow I need to go on that rant soon because if you believe that, your world must be so sad) and your BFFs are the only friends you will have.

The fact is that your BFF and you have different preferences for many things and that might extend to friends. Some people just don't gel with each other and it's an undeniable fact. You can not tell your BFF that they can't be friends with someone who you aren't friends with? What kind of controlling relationship is that?

In a romantic relationship, there is a lot of emphases given to having your independence and having friends apart from the mutual friend group to grow more as people within the relationship.

I argue that this must be a given for platonic relationships too. It is important to have friends that aren't your BFF group. It is essential to your growth and your happiness to broaden your horizons and cherish friends who aren't part of the main group. Honestly, this grouping system reminds me of cliques in high school and we all know how those turn out.

Personally, I have friends that aren't in my main friend circle but they aren't less important. I have learned so much fostering a relationship just one-on-one and even though they aren't someone my friend circle is close to, so what?

I am my own person and I can make my own decisions. Moving from high school to college is a huge transition in not only your academic life but also your personal life and if you do not try to grab new opportunities then you are not growing up at all.

I have been fortunate enough to stay BFFs with my high school friends and they make me feel comfortable and at home. They make me feel so loved and cherished and I would not trade them for the world. But the same goes for the new friends I made, they made me figure out more aspects of myself that I would not have found if I hadn't interacted with them and I would not trade them either.

I mean yes, my BFFs and I have a lot of similar preferences but we celebrate our differences and you should too.