Can you have more than one best friend? I am blessed to have some pretty awesome friends in my life. Throughout my 21 years of living, I have experienced some great friendships and they’ve all been a little different. Lately, I have noticed that during each year of college, my friend groups have changed. My “go-to” people to hang out with vary from year to year, semester to semester even, and that’s okay, I Personally think it’s possible to have more than one friend, or friend group, and I believe it is possible to have more than one best friend as well. My good friends Merriam and Webster define “best friend” as “someone’s closest and dearest friend.” While this seems like a sufficient definition, I’d argue to say that people can be close to one another in different ways and during different times in life. I have a best friend who I know I can count on, who is trustworthy, and who I can confide in when things get really tough. I have a best friend who I can talk for hours about surface-level stuff, deep stuff, honestly anything. I have a best friendship where we can share our burdens with each other without judgement. It’s a best friendship where we lift each other up and hold each other accountable. I have another best friend who I know will always be there for me and who gets me. I have other best friends who really do care about me and who I know will stick up for me if I need them to.
As I write this article, I can’t help but be overwhelmed with gratitude that I have so many great friendships. And these friendships are real, they’re not fake, and they’re not superficial. And for that, I am thankful. But what happens when all of these best friends get jealous of each other? It happens. We want to be each other’s person and we don’t want our best friend to find fulfillment in another friendship other than ours. It’s tough, i get it. I feel that part of being a best friend is allowing them to develop other friendships. Every friendship is different, meets different needs, and might even serve a different purpose, and that’s okay. Other friendships do not make yours any less valuable or meaningful. So stop being jealous, and start being happy for your friend and their new friendships, don’t limit yourself from developing other best friendships and be the best best friend you can be!