Are you looking for your friendships and relationships to be more meaningful? Model and activist Amelie Zilber is too, and she wants to help all of us improve ourselves and our relationships with others!
In her new video podcast sponsored by Bumble, Looking For…, Zilber sits down with thought leaders and explores what they are looking for in life. Last night, Her Campus at UCLA attended the launch of Looking For…., an exciting watch party for the first episode. In this episode, Zilber explored friendship, explaining that “we all struggle with building friendships as adults” and that no one is experiencing that alone.
Entering the event, I was greeted with lots of boxed candies and a DJ booth with a dance floor. There were many people dancing and taking photos in a replica of the Looking For… set (which I happily participated in). Walking into the movie theater, I was then ushered to the front row, and the vodcast soon played on the big screen.
I sat down with no expectations or preconceptions about what the vodcast would be about. I was then blown away. Zilber broke down some hard truths about friendship, saying “It is so easy to perceive yourself through your day to day lens and not other people’s” and that is why it is so important to be aware of your own actions. She continued by explaining that being intentional about the time that you spend with your friends can make a big difference in your relationships. One way Zilber recommends doing this is virtually including your friends when you are taking some time to yourself. For example, playing a show at the same time as a friend and texting about it.
As the vodcast played on the big screen, I found myself chatting with those around me about the topics Zilber raised. Another big aspect of friendship Zilber brought to our attention was communication styles. In the vodcast, she asked her guests, actress Daniella Perkins (most known for her recent role in Grown-ish) and Youtuber Olivia Sui, “If you have different communication styles do you continue the friendship?”. Both of her guests responded by saying some relationships are worth the extra effort of overcoming these obstacles. Olivia even opened up about her own communication style and said “I’m not a texter, I am an in-person person, all my friends know that.” They discussed how knowing your communication style and being honest about it to your friends may improve your relationships. In Olivia’s case, the trio spoke about how her friends might have thought she was ignoring them over text; when, in reality, she just doesn’t prefer that type of communication.
Zilber ended the vodcast by recapping her helpful tips to make new friends and improve your relationships with the ones you have. Her top-tips were: hone in on your hobbies, be open in real life, be open to meeting online friends, check in with your friends, communicate and protect yourself. After the premiere of the vodcast, Zilber offered some final words of wisdom from her mother about friendship on stage “You are who you surround yourself with.” Truly words to live by!
With this quote in mind, I left the event pondering all I’d learned about friendship. Rest assured, I am looking forward to the upcoming topics and guests on Looking For…! If you also want to tune in to Zilber’s honest chats, keep up with the vodcast every Wednesday on the Past Your Bedtime channel on YouTube!