The 8 Friends We Have In Our Early 20s

1. The party friend

This person is absolutely batshit, known for peeing in public, and getting into, but more impressively out of, the most absurd situations. You don’t necessarily have any type of deep emotional relationship with them, but whenever you need to have a good time that you probably won’t remember, this person is your go to. They always know the hottest spots, have all sorts of connections, and they’re constantly trying to convert you, so you always have a standing invite to join. If you get broken up with on a Monday night, this is the person who is going to know about the one hopping place on a Tuesday and get the bartender to give you free drinks all night to cheer you up.

2. The platonic friend of the opposite sex

Since the day you two met, people have been asking will they/won’t they? You both exasperatedly say no were just friends, but then again stranger things have happened and as the old saying goes: “You don’t cuddle with ‘just friends’”. To that I say, sometimes we just need to be held. This person is your emotional boyfriend/girlfriend so to speak. When you need comfort, they are your go to. They’ll come watch bad movies with you, cuddle you when you’re sad, take care of you when you’re drunk, and give you relationship advice. No one really understands your relationship except the two of you, and that’s completely fine, you just wish people would stop asking questions.

3. The tough love friend

This is the friend you go to when you do not want pity or someone to commiserate with. They are going to tell it to you like it is, because they love you and they’re a realist. Going to this person is an active choice and often a tough one to make. If you decide to go to this person, it means you have reached a point of self-realization and maturation that may well exceed your years (or not). Or maybe you’re a masochist. Anyway that you end up going to this friend for your problem, it means you’re about to get a jolt of rational reality. While it may be hard, actually listening to what they have to say will probably help, as they have the perspective and guts to tell you the truth.

4. The sympathetic/empathetic friend

This person is the opposite of tough love friend. They have either been through what you’ve been through or are just super emotionally adept and can commiserate in a way that makes you feel special and unique in your pain, but not alone. They are going to hug you and get you your fave comfort food and dry your tears. They are the person you call at 3AM and before asking them to come over they’re already out the door because they heard the need in your voice.

5. The friend who takes too much

This person is hard to stay friends with and you often wonder why you continue to. They are very self-centered, have lots of problems, and whether they’re an only child or not, they suffer from only-child’s syndrome. They’re really great people they just take a lot from the relationship and rarely give back in the emotional support sense. For some reason you keep them around, because despite their draining of your friendship-resources, you always find something redeeming about them.

6. The common interest friend

This is someone you met either doing a specific activity you both like or more commonly, someone you were peripheral-friends with and then discovered your shared love of the same activity. This is someone who you never see outside of your chosen activity of shared interest, but during that activity y’all are besties. This person is your run buddy, your obscure fitness craze class buddy, your thrift shop buddy, or raku pottery buddy. They hold a special place in your heart because a) you associate them with an activity you love doing and b) they are a reprieve from your circle of everyday friends who you can vent to worry free.

7. The philosophical friend

This is your Deep friend with a capital D. They are intelligent, informed, and interesting. When you need a break from your brain deadening Netflix marathon, you shoot them a text that you hope they see. Oftentimes they don’t because they are too caught up in their philosophical musings. You like to go on walks with them or to obscure coffee shops. They make you think and give you a break from the daily shallowness of your own life. You can’t be around them all the time though, because it makes your brain hurt and you miss the Kardashians.

8. The back home bestie

This person is there for you in a way that no one you’ve met recently can be. It doesn’t matter how far apart you’ve grown both emotionally or in terms of how you now lead your lives. This is because this person was there when you vomited from eating too much frosting at your eighth birthday party and that is an unbreakable bond. This person knows the you that morphed into your current self and can bring you back to your roots. They probably don’t know the people that are causing your current problems, but that doesn’t matter. Sometimes you just need to reminisce about the good old days and this reminder of how things used to be is the boost you need to keep going now. Thought Catalog Logo Mark

image – The LA Complex

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