Find friends who believe in you and support your life goals.
Sometimes our dreams sound crazy. Sometimes who we want to become seems so far out of reach. More often than not, we keep our hopes and aspirations to ourselves because other people have the tendency to degrade and question our ambitions. Those are the type of people you don’t want to surround yourself with. Associating with people who make you feel stupid simply because you want to accomplish something they don’t understand is going to keep you from reaching self-actualization. So find someone who fuels your drive to succeed. It’s a relief knowing at least one person believes in you and sometimes, a little support is all you need.
Find friends who listen.
When you are completely stressed out and need to vent, there are times you just need someone to be quiet, devote their attention to you, and listen. Advice and encouragement is nice and always appreciated but sometimes we literally just need to ramble and rant about our problems without interruptions. Plus, we need someone there to listen so it doesn’t look like we’re talking to ourselves.
Find friends who take care of you (without resenting you).
Crazy night at the bars? One too many shots of Fireball? Missing a shoe? While you should always be responsible and try to take care of yourself, it’s nice knowing you have people who are willing to put up with your irresponsible side. Sure, you might feel like a burden but a real friend would never feel that way towards you and would never even think about holding your mistakes over your head.
Find friends who will listen to music and eat cookie dough with you.
Life is rough. There is an endless amount of stress that can cause our motivation and determination to come to a standstill. It happens to all of us and sometimes the best thing to do is to just give up for the night and put your worries away. I have a friend who has often turned to eating a raw cookie dough log to cope with stress and while I don’t recommend doing this every night, it can be a huge relief to set aside worries and indulge and just enjoy the company of a great friend.
Find friends who remind you to be grateful and appreciate life.
It’s incredibly easy to take life for granted. I don’t think any of us mean to do it but there are definitely times where we all are just so angry that we forget about all of the beautiful parts of life. Find friends who remind you that there’s so much to be thankful for and that you should be counting your blessings, not your worries.
Find friends who make you laugh so hard, you start clapping like a dumbfounded seal.
“Laughter is the best medicine” sounds unbelievably cliche but scientific evidence backs it up. Laughter can bring happiness and relief after turmoil. Find people who make you laugh. Not only will it positively contribute to your health, it’ll strengthen the bond of a friendship. The harder you laugh and the more your sides ache, the better.
Find friends who are hard to say goodbye to.
There are many reasons you may have to say goodbye to a friend. One of you might be moving away, the other going off to college… Or maybe you’re saying goodbye for the last time before meeting again in another life. It doesn’t matter how you say it, whether you say “goodbye” or “see ya later” or if the separation is temporary or permanent, parting with someone who means the world to you is never easy. When the thought of being without “your people” makes your heart ache and you can barely muster enough courage to say goodbye, that’s when you know you have found the people you need.
