One of the most important things to get you through life is the people you surround yourself with. Whether you’re young and find yourself looking for guidance from others who are twice your age, or if you find yourself turning to anyone who will lend a helping hand…the people that you allow in your life will help determine who you become in life and, in some cases, will persuade how others look at you.

In high school, I was always the girl that was hanging out at the lunch table with guys.

Not because I was sleeping with them, not because I was trying to get attention, and not because I wanted to be with all of them. I hang out with guys because in most cases.. they’re just not near as messy as girls can be. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of girl friends and I love them dearly. But at the end of the day, it’s just easier for me to talk to guys.

I don’t like drama, and I would rather talk about funny bar stories than about who Cindy was chasing after this week. Side note, I love wearing makeup and heels, but that doesn’t stop me from asking about the latest football game or basketball scores.

As much as I love it, having guy friends can have super confusing qualities. Girls (and even other guys) will judge you with no remorse if they seeing you out while you’re the only female in a group of 10.

Dating, in particular, has been the hardest part. How do you truly assure your boyfriend beyond the shadow of a doubt that you’re solely focused on him when every time your phone goes off it's one of the guys? I wish the answer was much more simple but in all reality, there’s really no way to completely reassure him, even if you truly only are friends with all the guys.

I have learned that you have to be able to take your boyfriend around all the guys so that he can see the relationship you have with them. Once he hears y'all's harmless conversations about the last time you got drunk and called them to talk about the weather, he’ll understand that they’re really only there to help you smile through life.

Another hardship you may find yourself going through is dealing with a girlfriend of one of your guy friends. Let’s face it, girls can be mean… so as soon as they see that you and their man have pulled an all nighter before finals, they’ll basically social media stalk you until they know your phone number, your date of birth, and even your address. In some cases, they’ll even be brave enough to message you on Facebook to tell you that you should keep your hands off their man (yes, that really happened once).

At the end of the day, you shouldn’t listen to what others say if you’re surrounding yourself with people who want to help you live your best life. So take it from a girl who hangs around mostly guy friends.. people are always going to talk… but that shouldn’t change who you hang around.