This week I picked up phone numbers from three girls. That’s right-- girls. During my bar hopping days, I used to gather
tons of guys’ numbers and store save them in the contacts as “Do not answer
creepy guy from charleys,” “Nick
Stadium,” or “Mark Rush Street 2,” but picking up girls is making me smile way
bigger, because… FRIENDS!
I didn't think Han Solo would love me going out making a
bunch of guy friends right away in Tucson, so I decided to set my sights on some
girls. Terrifying. I am more frightened of girls than a pimply
boy at the junior high school dance.
Girl friendships tend to be much more complicated, and as a former
(accidental) queen bee, I know they can be political as well. I’m hoping I've learned my lessons and am
treading lightly, trying to move slowly to form genuine and friendly bonds, and
I’m not currently looking for any minions (JK-- Blair Waldorf is my idol). But so far it seems to be working!
Bottom line is, it’s hard to make new friends in a new
place—girls or not. In college all you
have to do is be nice to everyone and you instantly have friends, because
everyone’s trying to fit in. Or you join
a club like the crew team and you immediately inherit 150 new best friends, and
every year you automatically get 40 new freshman recruits to be your new BFFs. But once you hit the real world, it’s
awfully hard. It took me almost a full
year to get the nerves to burst out of my shy little bubble and make friends in
Ann Arbor, and another three years to build on that and have an amazing friend
group (all of whom I miss very very very much!!!).
So this time, to avoid shrinking into my bubble and hiding
from social interactions, I made a simple goal of socializing at least once a
week. (Hilarious, coming from someone
whose planner was so full that happy hours had to be booked two weeks in
advance.) And with the help of
co-workers – old AND new—I’m killing my goal every week, and I’m happier than a
queen bee in honey.
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