take a moment to celebrate March 22nd the right way
In college, everyone’s top priority is usually the same: find friends.
I know that we all are always looking for people who match our energy, who we can laugh with, and who we can spend our time with, but in light of National Goof-Off Day, I want to take time to make sure we are all surrounded by people who really love us for who we are.
I chose this specific day to create this test, because I feel that the truest forms of friendship come from when you can be the goofiest version of yourself and allow yourself to be surrounded with people who feel comfortable being the goofiest versions of theirselves!
I created a 3 question survey that you can mentally take, and by the end, you will give you a real clarity on your relationships…
do they listen to you?
Do they sit down with you when you’re talking and let you speak until you feel good? If you said yes, that’s not really what I was going for. Yes, there is always a time for rants, but when someone is truly listening to you, you can tell. They get involved in your story, they feel personally affected by anything that happens to you, and of course – they give you advice or tell you what you need to hear. Instead of someone saying, “If that was me, I would have shut that guy up so fast, and humbled him because no one messes around with me” (we all know a person like that), I think a good friend would feel empathetic and try and make you process and understand your emotions. A good friend wouldn’t make your issues about them and degrade you for not acting like how they would in a situation. So even if you don’t have a friend who will talk to you and help you, try to be that person for someone else. Because after all, what you sow, you reap.
do you like eating with them?
If you can’t handle them for a meal at the dining hall, then trust you can’t handle them in your day-to-day life. This one is pretty much a given. You can learn a lot about someone from a meal with them. For example, do they leave their trash on the floor or do they say “please” and “thank you” to the servers? Do they judge how much food you get and make snide remarks about what you’re eating, or how much? I just can not stand when people weren’t raised with manners and make a simple meal all about criticism, and almost a challenge to see how awful they can be. So just take a look around the next time you’re getting a meal with your friends and make sure they are the right people.
can you be goofy with them?
Personally, I know I have made a true friend when I can sing my favorite songs at the top of my lungs and they immediately join me. The wrong people would say “shut up” or “you’re annoying me” or “you pmo”, but a real one would honestly sing louder. This falls into why I chose to relate this to National Goof-Off Day. Real friends will laugh when you are doing something funny and have an admiration for your goofy personality; it wouldn’t be something you need to control or keep under the wraps.