Friendships play an important role throughout our lives. They’re a constant and valuable part of our community that offer essential companionship and support. In honor of International Friendship Day, we wanted to talk about the different types of friendships many of us have and how they evolve in adulthood. As we mature and our lives change, it’s natural to have friends that fit different roles or for those roles to change over time. The most important thing is that friends continue to show up for each other in a way only they know how.
Childhood Friends: The First of Many Friendships
Childhood friends are special for all of us. Whether you met as neighbors, in grade school, or at summer camp, these friendships have strong foundations in shared memories and experiencing some of life’s first milestones together. Childhood friends know us in a way many others never will, and they provide a sense of familiarity and unwavering support. Distance, adult responsibilities, and busy schedules may mean we don’t see these friends as much or that we aren’t fully up-to-date on the latest happenings in each other’s lives, but it doesn’t lessen that foundational bond. Time apart just makes reconnecting with childhood friends that much more rewarding and nostalgic.
Shared Hobby Friends: The Friendships With Overlapping Passions
As adults, one of the most cherished types of friends we can have is one with whom we share a hobby. A friend you make via shared interests not only understands that passion, but also actively participates in it with you. Whether it’s spending time outside, playing sports, making music, or any other variety of interesting hobbies, this friend fuels your enthusiasm and is creating memories right alongside you. When you share a bond over a mutual love for an activity, it becomes a powerful connection that deepens your friendship and creates a foundation for a long lasting relationship. Having a friend who loves what you do, makes the things you enjoy that much more meaningful.
Ride or Die Friends: The Best Friendships
If you’re lucky, you have a best friend that is there for you through thick and thin. In adulthood, weeks can pass without catching up, but as soon as you do it’s like you never skipped a beat. The ride or die friends are the type that would drop everything to support us, and probably have at some point or another. They know you better than anyone and have the power to bring joy, comfort and a sense of belonging. They’re who you go to when you need advice or when you just need to vent — and they know the difference between the two.
For many adults, friendships take on different forms and serve different roles. There are many more types of friends than what we can list here, and they’re all essential to forming a well rounded support system. While we might not have the same consistency that we did in the past, it’s now easier than ever to stay in touch. The internet allows us to check in with friends near and far in many different ways. We now have the ability to e-mail friends on different continents or reconnect with ones we haven’t seen in years through social media. Nixplay even offers digital frames that can be updated via shared playlists. So you can gift frames to friends and share photos via the frames that you’ll see everyday. It’s a great way to stay connected and see what everyone is up to, and it might even prompt an extra phone call or text message from time to time. However you choose to keep in touch, we hope you check in with your friends for International Friendship Day.