In the early stages of freshman year (and college in general), you are making new friends and may feel pressure to like everyone you meet. However, there are some people who are just not good friends, and it is alright to acknowledge this and keep them at bay. We tend to wrongly think that we are bad people if we don’t want to be friends with someone, but it is important to realize that toxic friends will ultimately make us feel bad about ourselves. There are many types of toxic friends that will not benefit your life, and who you’ll learn to keep at the acquaintance level.
One type of person who is a toxic friend is someone who constantly competes with you. Friendship is about acknowledging each other’s achievements and praising them, not trying to tear each other down. Some girls may try to compete with you over several things, from academics to more trivial things such as boys and social life. No matter what the circumstance, a friend should never be trying to one-up you.
Another person who is likely to become a toxic friend is the one who constantly makes comments about your appearance. Even though small comments about how you wear sweatpants too much may seem harmless and teasing, a friend should not ever make you feel lesser about yourself because of your appearance or the way you dress. I’ve had friends say “Oh, you’re going out wearing…that?” Little digs like this can hurt your self-esteem, and “friends” who don’t understand this are not friends at all.
A major example of a toxic friend is the friend who never asks how you’re doing. This person is probably very self-involved and is likely only in the friendship for their own benefit. They want to be your friend when it’s convenient for them, but don’t actually care about how your day went or even notice when you’re upset about something. This friend is toxic and downright selfish. After all, how hard is it to ask a simple, “Hey, how is your day going?”
It is difficult at times to acknowledge that some of your friends may not actually be treating you the way you deserve. But once you realize the type of people that are toxic in your life, you are one step closer to letting them go and searching for friends who will make you feel good about yourself.