The Friday Five: Gradients of Friendship

We’ve talked about the boys you date in college. We’ve talked about the girls you become or befriend in college. But here at So It Must Be True, we’ve never really talked about the gradients of friendship in college. Scroll through your Friends list on Facebook, and you’ll start to find patterns. Now narrow it down to the friends you actually come into contact with regularly, and you’ll be able to start categorizing.

Of course, as I’ve said before, there are exceptions to everything, and there are plenty of categories that I’m not even going to touch upon. However, this is The Friday Five, and therefore, I am going to discuss the five main types of friendships you will experience throughout your college (and possibly young adult) career. Try and figure out where your friends fit in!

The Friday Five: Gradients of Friendship

1. The friend who isn’t really your friend.
This person is really more of an acquaintance, but you try to make nice when you have to. Maybe he or she is somewhat of a frenemy (I can’t believe I just used that word), or maybe just someone you don’t have anything in common with and don’t have much to say to, but you still manage to run in the same social circles and occasionally have to interact. You don’t necessarily like this person, but you can tolerate him or her for short periods of time.

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2. The “class” friend.
You met this person in your Intro to Psych class as freshmen and have since planned your schedules so that you would take all of your psychology classes together. Whenever you’re in class together, you get along great — you catch up on all of your personal anecdotes and always notice how you really hit it off. However, while you both constantly promise to plan a lunch date in the near future, it never happens. The only time you hang out when you’re not in class, it is at Barnes & Noble for a quick study session. True, the two of you have never been to a party together, but this person is your buddy for all things psychology.

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3. The platonic friend.
You’ve known each other for a while, but you placed each other in the Friend Zone a long time ago and honestly do not want to leave it. Everyone thinks you’re dating, but you’ve made it clear to each other that there’s no attraction and that it would never feel right, so you laugh and respond, “No way, he’s like a brother to me!” and then he replies with something offensive and you punch him in the arm.

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4. The mostly platonic friend.
You’re “just friends,” but one or both of you has entertained the idea of something more. The attraction is there, but neither of you wants to leave your comfort zone or rock the boat. The two of you claim to linger in the Friend Zone, but even you know that the idea has crossed your mind and will continue to do so.

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5. The best friends.
You are the Blair and Serena, the Marissa and Summer, the Batman and Robin of the group. You finish each other’s sentences and sicken other people with your skills in reading each other’s minds. This is the first person you call after you’ve had a successful first date, purchased the perfect new outfit or found something awesome to decorate your apartment together. You love everyone else in the five gradients of friendship, but anyone who fits into this category is the most important of all. 🙂

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What other categories of friendship have you encountered?