“Welcome to the real world! It sucks. You’re gonna love it!” -Monica Geller
My two best friends in life I met in college. Since then, almost all of my other meaningful friendships have developed from the work place. Maybe it’s just the job I have [one where there is really not much time to do anything outside of work] or maybe that’s just how it is in the *real* world, but I really just haven’t met anybody outside of work that I actually develop a relationship with.
Work friends understand a massive part of your life, and empathize with it. They know all the things you need to vent about without any explanation. You get to see them during work hours as well as social hours. Sometimes, you even get to travel with them for work. So it’s understandable how those types of relationships are the ones that become the most meaningful in your life after college.
I personally have been blessed with some of the best work friendships. But the thing nobody tells you? When you’re in your twenties, people move on. They get new jobs, they move to a new city, a new state. And suddenly that close friendship is just gone. Sure, you still stay friends [especially with technology these days. Thanks, Facetime.] But because that friendship was a big part of your work life and your social life, everything changes.
I guess Friends gave me an unrealistic expectation of how life is. You dream about having a group of close friends that live in the same city and go on adventures and figure out life together, but does that ever really happen? I actually joke about this with my best friends all the time. About how we’re going to get married and force our husbands to live near the others in the same suburb or even in the same big mansion [once we make it big.] We also joke about how we’re all going to quit our jobs and move to Chicago to start a coffee shop. But as much of a dream that would be, that’s really all it is. It’s not exactly realistic to take three friends, that all have very different careers and live all over the country, and place them in the same city forever. The reality is, we met in college. So we’re all from different places, and even now, we all live in very different places. It’s just like the work friends… life took us in different directions and will probably continue to. So how can we expect this picture-perfect, sitcom-inspired life?
I’m still trying to figure it all out, but so far what I have figured out is: Enjoy these friendships. You might not be in the same place forever, or even for long, but they have the most impact on your life during that time. And the best part? You have so many places to vacation when all your friends move away.
grammar F•R•I•E•N•D 