QUALITIES OF BEST FRIEND -part 3/5

Part 3: Spending Time Together

1

Spend time together. Hang out on the weekends or plan activities together every now and then, do some homework together, and chat during break at school. You don’t have to live in each others’ pockets, but make sure you spend some quality time together with your best friend to make the friendship grow and become stronger.

• Know that you’ll probably have to sacrifice some of your time and maybe effort to be with your best friend. It should feel like something you want to be doing, even when it’s hard.
• Invite other people to hang out with you. Being best friends doesn’t mean you have to isolate yourselves from other people. Sometimes, it’s nice to be alone; you don’t need anybody else to have fun together. Other times, your enjoyment is increased by including other people into the fold.

2

Share laughs. There is nothing like laughing and smiling to bring people together. Besides, when they’re really friends, you guys can laugh at the dumbest, smallest, weirdest stuff and it doesn’t really matter. Take time out of your day to appreciate the funny things in life.

 

3

Learn to listen. Nobody likes a best friend who just talks and talks, but never listens. If you’re a chatterbox, try to develop good listening skills. Whenever your best friend says something, listen carefully and say something. Don’t just say “yeah” and move on. Don’t interrupt or fidget continually while they’re talking to you. If they ask for advice, listen carefully and give them the best advice you can. It’ll earn you respect and of course, make them come to you more.

• Be an active listener. Being an active listener means reading in between the lines. Sometimes it means knowing what the other person feels or is thinking before they do. If you’re an active listener, you might know who your friend likes before they do.
• Know when not to talk. There’s an old saying out there: The dumb person talks; the wise person listens. While that’s definitely an overstatement, it has some truth in it. Begin to feel comfortable just being with your bestie, not constantly having to talk to fill the silence.