TikTok’s popularity has been on the rise ever since its makeover from Musical.ly. The app is beginning to see recognition outside of the e-community like Charli D’Amelio who was featured in a Superbowl Commercial. It’s easy to see how some trends easily take over the internet. One of these trends is the Polar Opposite Friends Check and it really got me thinking about my own friendships.
Most of the friends I have made in college came from classes with a large majority being English Majors. There’s nothing that solidifies bonds more than hundreds of pages of dusty literature. Those friends, who I love dearly, make sense. We have the same classes, same interests, same horrible (and amazing) professors. We can laugh at the same pretentious students and also support one another’s literary endeavors. That being said, one of my best friends is so entirely different from me it’s startling.
My best friend E was my second roommate during my semester abroad. We didn’t know each other beforehand and my first impressions of her were less than ideal (she has Resting B*tch Face). After some unfortunate (or extremely fortunate depending on your viewpoint) events, I had to switch roommates. This is where my friendship with E truly began.
I initially went in simply wanting to get along and came out with a new appendage- despite our differences. I’m extremely clean and organized, emotional, artistic, not super serious, an avid reader, etc. On the other hand, E ate olive oil toast in her bed while doing her makeup, is very business-oriented, overly blunt, and brought a book with her to Europe that she never read. Everything that I did, she did the exact opposite. Eventually, though, we bonded over sleeping too much, late-night French fries, and YouTube makeup gurus. It turned into a best-friendship that’s lasted over two years.
So, when I saw a series of TikToks that showed friends being “opposite” it made me reminisce about the start of my friendship with E. Our differences sometimes cause issues like me being over-emotional and her responding with “okay” or my lack of corporate understanding and her dismissal of my magic rock collection. Despite everything, I have a best friend who will ground me if needed and continuously provide me with her RBF. Be sure to appreciate your polar opposite friends a little more this week because they make life unique.