Squads, brigades, gangs, cliques, crews, friend groups …
Most of us have them. After stumbling upon a couple of “friend group” Odyssey articles this week when I was looking for inspiration, I realized that “friend groups” are popular point of discussion. However, after reading these articles and then comparing my own experiences I have come to a few conclusions:
- Friend groups are a relatively new social phenomena
- People freakin’ love friend groups
- A lot of friend groups inevitably fall apart
I should preface this social discussion by admitting that I am a part of several different friend groups. In High School I had an incredibly solid friend group. Although we have sized down over time, I still have a very tight high school "clique." We have group chats, we talk almost every day and we have made large efforts to see each other as often as we can. That being said I felt almost spoiled when I was coming into college. That I was never going to have a group like that again.
So when I got to Brandeis, I tried relentlessly to create a friend group, and for the most part I succeeded, multiple times. I love my new friend groups. I love our inside jokes. I love our group chats. I love our outings. But quite honestly, I’ve realized that people get more caught up in the hype of friend groups, rather than realizing what’s most important.
- You can’t replicate a friend group
- You shouldn’t force something that isn’t really clicking
- Squad goals should not make you have FOMO
- At the end of the day what really matters is personal connection
What matters at the end of the day is how you perceive your friendships, how you interact with your friends and how you upload friendships. College is a place where friend groups do exist, but are not necessary.
