We’ve all been there, especially freshman year. You meet a sweet, fun, outgoing girl and it’s easy to develop an instant bond that seems everlasting. Unfortunately, girls are pretty good at putting on a face, whether they mean to or not. One of the easiest ways to ensure your college experience is the best it can be is by surrounding yourself with girls who actually care about you and will really assign meaning to those three letters, BFF. Coming from someone who has made the mistake of trusting and attaching to the wrong type of friend, remember these five tips the next time you consider developing a real friendship.
1. Honesty is really the best policy. Everyone likes to hear that they look great and that their essay is spot-on, but real friends will tell you when your makeup is too much and when you really need to reconsider your thesis…or your choice in men.
Yes, yes you do look orange.
2. “Nice” means a lot more than kind words and smiles. At first, everyone puts on a nice face and smiles, especially girls. But a real friend will take nice to a new level–staying up with you when you need to talk or brining you spa food when you are sick is the type of nice you should look for in a good friend.
3. A friendship takes two. If this girl can’t stop talking about herself and does not consider your needs in the friendship, chances are they are not a great friend. Of course everyone needs the spotlight now and then, but a real friendship is based on equally met needs.
4. How does she act when you go out? The easiest way to spot a social climber, which is the worst type of friend, is the way she treats you when you go out. If you get kicked into the backseat or are the one asked to take the picture of her and her other friends, its safe to say that she does not value your friendship.
If you’re the girl in the back right, you might want to reconsider your friend group.
5. Trust is much more easily broken than built. The most important aspect of a friend is trust. If you cannot trust your friend with a secret, whether they have broken your trust before or you just have a bad feeling, the friendship is not real. Your best friend is the girl you can tell anything with confidence, so don’t waste your time settling for less than the best.