WEEK 161: How I made friends and kept them.

Friendships enrich our lives because they help us celebrate the good times and support us in the bad. And when it comes to health, they help us prevent isolation and loneliness.

I remember coming out of high school feeling that I had few friends and that the kind of education we received only indoctrinated us so that our reasoning had only one direction, it was either black or white, right or wrong.

There was no in-between, and my questioning got me into a lot of trouble, as I was always questioning that type of education and that type of people coming out of this ultra-conservative institution.

When I got to college, my mind expanded and I met people of different races, creeds, colors and thoughts. Very good people and very bad people, I learned that there were diverse positions and that I was free to think and to declare my ideas without being recriminated or judged in a biased way.

On the first day of college during the preparation course very few of us knew each other and something that was very natural was to introduce ourselves to each other, and as the days went by we already knew about our tastes and interests.

Suddenly, my fear of strangers began to disappear, and many times I took the initiative to introduce myself to my classmates who I felt had an affinity with me.

Thus, I was forming friendships with similar tastes, and I was integrating myself into various groups, and therefore I realized that the interests of some are not the same as the interests of others, which allowed me to belong to various groups.

These interactions made me attend clubs where baseball, bowling and soccer were played, go to the movies, invite people for coffee or lunch, accept invitations to social gatherings, take English and accounting courses.

With all these activities I was able to establish great friendships that I have been able to maintain for 38 years.

Now, the detail is in how to maintain them, being the kindness shown what makes relationships grow, coupled with the fact of paying close attention to our friends, sharing details of hard times or funny experiences, being empathetic and sharing what I think and feel.

The idea is to generate a feedback in which friends treat us the same way we have treated them, as it generates trusting relationships.

I have shown that they can trust me, being responsible, not failing to commitments and promises made. It is important not to share information given to us in confidence with other people.

Likewise, you have to make an effort to see your friends on a regular basis, and to hear from them.

I think everything I have discussed is valid for making new friends in life, not just at the academic level, as it is possible to replicate all of these behaviors throughout our lives.

True and lasting friendships require that we are authentic and sincere, that our qualities come out when appropriate and that our friends are not ashamed of our tastes or points of view.

This is my participation in the initiative suggested by @galenkp called Weekend-Engagement writing topics: WEEK 161. Link Here

Friendship

How do you go about finding new friends and creating lasting friendships in the offline world? Explain in 300+ words and use photos you took yourself where you can.

Best regards to all and happy weekend.

The image is my property and was taken with my cell phone Iphone 4, I am the one with the mustard colored shirt.