Making Friends (And Keeping Them): Friendly Advice from A Friendless Person

I am not the friendliest person you'll ever meet, so why should you listen to the friendship advice I'm about to give? Well, by reading this article you may learn something from my mistakes. Having said that, I think my advice is as valuable, if not more valuable than the advice of friendlier people.

First off, in making new friends, one must always remember the rule of thumb: "Just be yourself. Let them love or hate you for who you are."

Don't try to change yourself so you can fit in with a group. Believe me, it will only end in misery. This has been said so many times before but people just seem to ignore it. Sure it's fun to become someone else for awhile, especially if your "usual self" isn't the type to get noticed, but how long can you keep up the facade?

Eventually, they will find out you're not who they think you are, and you'll have a lot of explaining to do. Now if you feel that you won't be able to make friends if you're "different", then that's where you're wrong. We all have kindred souls no matter how different we think we are.

Another common piece of advice which keeps on getting ignored is: "Be open-minded. Don't choose your friends."

It's easily said than done, of course. We tend to choose our friends mainly because we're afraid of being associated with the rejects. You do know that if you choose your friends, then you're denying yourself (and others) a lifetime of memories.

Put yourself in the shoes of those people you did not choose as your friend. How would you feel if you're being avoided by the people you want to be friends with? It's not the greatest feeling in the world, right? Now, if you have lived your whole life avoiding certain types of people, then try to be more open-minded this time around. You only have one life to live, it's not too late to invite other people into that life of yours.

The last thing you must remember in making friends is: "Friendship is a gift, so be a good friend."

There's not much to explain here, really. If you want to make friends, it's relatively easy. Keeping them is the hard part.

There are many people out there who seems to be surrounded by lots of friends, but you don't have to compete with them. If you only have a handful of friends but you find that they're the kind who last for a lifetime, then you're better off than those popular people. Finding real friends is rare these days, if you do find them, be sure to keep them.

Learn more about this author, Julius Albert Custodio.
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