I've always had a hard time keeping friends. It wouldn't be fair to say that I never fit in, but I never really had my own "group". While most people might refer to people like me as a loner or wallflower, I think floater is a more appropriate term. A floater can be easily defined as a person that doesn't have their own set group of friends. Instead of sticking with the same group of people most of the time, they hop back and forth in between different friend groups.

Since I was in grade school I never really stuck to one group of friends. I always hated the idea of being stuck in one group of friends, because I didn't want to get bored. Also, I liked getting different opinion different topics, or just trying to see things from someone else's point of view. I was shy when I was younger so I really didn't mind sitting and listening to other people speak, which kind of made others see me as some type of weirdo. It was only when people really got to know me, instead of making assumptions, that they realized I was no different from them. The only time I was bothered by not having a set group of friends is whenever there was a birthday party I wasn't invited to, or when I wasn't invited to hang out.

While being a floater is typically a good thing, it can also be kind of crappy. People tend to forget about your existence because of the fact that they are so used to being around the same people almost everyday. If you're not one of those people that are with the group constantly, then you most likely won't even be thought of when they're making plans. My personal experience with this happening has been discouraging. It makes you feel isolated in a sense, as if you are forced to choose a group and stick with them. Since Halloween just past, seeing all the posts of friends doing a themed costume kind of made me feel lonely. The life of floater is not a simple one. You gain so much perspective on different types of people, but you still feel left out at times.

It's not all bad though. For me, being a floater meant that I was able to meet all sorts of people. Going to a small private college you hear a lot of rumors about people. I found that since I didn't stick to one set group of friends, and I've always wanted to form my own opinions about people, that you shouldn't listen to what others say. While you might look at a group of friends and assume that they're all fake, or that they're just plain bitches, actually hanging around them and seeing things for yourself really helps you grow as a person. In life people are always going to talk about you without bothering to get to know you, that's just how it is. If you can open yourself up to different types of people, maybe even introduce people from different social circles to each other, then maybe they too can see why it's okay to not stick to a group. Groups make us comfortable, but they also keep us sheltered. If you're hanging out with people that have the same mindset as you then you'll never be able to see the full picture.