Date Your Friends

I am a big firm believer in that everyone should date their friends. A date is not necessarily something that needs to be romantic and only with someone you want to bang. It should be an opportunity to show your friends that you care and that you love them and enjoy having them in your life.

Friend dates are important to me because I have such a small circle of friends. I lost a whole lot of close friends from high school just because of the passage of time and going to different universities. We still see each other now and again, but maybe once a year or less. Then there’s the fact that I just didn’t make that many friends at uni. I struggle being social and I don’t know how to just casually ask someone out for a coffee after class just so I can establish some form of friendship. Most people I would have thought of becoming friends with, disappeared the next semester because we just didn’t have the same timetable.

I have a total of 2 friends I made after 5 years of uni that I purposefully make an effort to maintain a relationship.

There’s also a massive sense of self worth that comes from going on a Friend Date. Those precious moments where you catch up and just forget about everything else going on in the world and know that the other person sitting across from you is just as interested in knowing how you are as much as you want to know how they are.

I have two regular friend dates that I go on. One with the beautiful gals M & M and the other with E, who I’ve known since the first day of high school. Both of these regular dates are special to me in more ways than one.

With M & M, it’s the regular catch-ups every second Friday, something to look forward to, something that is always in my calendar and giving me anticipation. These dates have honestly taken me from some very dark and harrowing times for a brief moment, and remind myself that I am worthy the attention of other people and I do have the capability to give my time and heart to two people that won’t mess with it.

Dates with E are comfortable, familiar and safe. I have known her for so long that I can just relax and talk and talk and talk and be heard. E has seen me lose friends, seen me angry, seen me exasperated, seen me in love. When I need that reassurance that everything will be okay, when I need that familiar-ness to pull me back, I will always have her. And I hope I am the same for her.

I still love romantic dates, I love the special time I spend with my boyfriend and the constant, unconditional reassurance and love I get from him. But maintaining friendships through dates is still important because these are the people that form my extended family and it’s important I let them know that, and to reassure them that I will always be there for them, as much as they are there for me.

What are your favourite friend dates and who are your special friends in life?

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