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I have very few friends, and i enjoy meeting and being with people. But i don't quickly make deep friendships and i am ok with that although sometimes i do wish i had a circle of friends i have known for a long time. But we moved a lot and that was that.
But i know some people to whom friends is in capital letters. A breakup and misunderstanding is tragedy. They guard them jealously. They are dearer to them than family, even if they get along fine with family. They prioratize friends over family. They are despondent if they move to a new place and cannot make friends fast enough. They have fall outs which makes them miserable. Sometimes i wonder if they go to extreme lengths to please, and keep, friends like give them money, gifts, trips.
My step-sister is like that, her friends mean everything to her. She has a minimal relationship with her family. I will say that her friends are a little off center and all act about 16 yo...and,they are in their 60's...
Seems that she does not want the responsibility that comes with family relationships, she prefers her life to be all Ha Ha's.
I do have friends that date back over 40 years, we all live in different states, but we do get together yearly and talk on a regular basis. So, I do believe one can have both, family relationships and those with friends.
Don't really understand why some people put friends ahead of family, but, they do.
I don't know. I have found in life that friends are temporary and generally situational. They make life more pleasant at times, but I don't place a high value on them. Family is permanent and they will always have your back.
I don't know. I have found in life that friends are temporary and generally situational. They make life more pleasant at times, but I don't place a high value on them. Family is permanent and they will always have your back.
I agree that your statement (bolded) is true for some; however, for some (including myself) we don't have healthy and strong family relationships - and therefore many times our friends are our family.
I have very few friends, and i enjoy meeting and being with people. But i don't quickly make deep friendships and i am ok with that although sometimes i do wish i had a circle of friends i have known for a long time. But we moved a lot and that was that.
But i know some people to whom friends is in capital letters. A breakup and misunderstanding is tragedy. They guard them jealously. They are dearer to them than family, even if they get along fine with family. They prioratize friends over family. They are despondent if they move to a new place and cannot make friends fast enough. They have fall outs which makes them miserable. Sometimes i wonder if they go to extreme lengths to please, and keep, friends like give them money, gifts, trips.
Not everyone is as strong and resilient as you are.
Quality over quantity. I think that's a good thing. I think many people might say they have a bunch of friends but I think many of them are often just acquaintances. Nice people to hang around with, but not what I would define as true friends. I'd take one true friend over 100 acquaintances any day.
I think it also depends on how one is brought up. Our parents brought us up to be independent people. While of course we have friends/enjoy being with people, it's also nice to do independent things. I think some people are brought up in a way that's makes them very dependent on people all the time and I think that's unhealthy.
Family can be there for people as a positive but for some that's an unhealthy thing. Just because they are blood doesn't make it a positive relationship for many. As the old saying goes, you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family.
Sure, yes. But i am talking about people who are surrounded by family, spouse and kids, that is supportive and loving and they love them in return.
For those people, maybe friends aren't as big of a priority.
For everyone else, it makes sense that they would be.
What else needs to be said?
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