Hi everyone, welcome back to The Everything Blog. This is Cole Bennett. And today I want to talk about kind of a weird thing that I’m sure happens to a lot of adults: making friends as you get older.
You’ve had friends that you’ve known for years, and that’s easy. Some you probably went to college or high school with that you’ve kept in touch with. But to make friends as a 30- or 40-year-old person is just not easy. You’re finding someone who has lived a life, and that is how they are, and it is not an easy task to meet new people. At least in my experience. Maybe you guys can tell me your experiences, but in my experience, I feel like it’s kind of awkward.
You know, at 10 or 12 years old you would just walk up to a kid and say, “Hi, my name’s blah blah blah, and I’m ready to be your friend,” and they would reciprocate. At my age, you gotta catch somebody at the gym or just passing by, and it’s usually just hi’s and bye’s. I don’t know if people are looking for new friends in their 40s or 30s. I don’t know.
Old friends never go anywhere. They’re always going to be there, and you have your ways and your trips with them and your nights out and your dinners. But have you ever tried to go out with somebody new lately? It’s weird, because you’re either expecting them to be like your old friends, and they’re getting to know you, you’re getting to know them, and it’s awkward.
Honestly, I have yet to hit it off with a new adult friend. Let me get that right: I have plenty of friends, just not a new one.
And I think we meet a lot of people out there. If you have kids, you’ll meet the other parents and they’ll be like, “Oh, we should get together.” That is just a bullshit line. They’re just saying that to be friendly, and you’re like, “Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah,” but you mean it as bullshit too. Nobody’s lying necessarily on purpose. It just doesn’t survive adult calendars. Between a job and kids and your normal friends that you have, and life and vacations and in-laws and everything else you have, it’s just hard.
Especially for men. Women seem to have an easier time of it, in my experience. They’ll strike up a real conversation at the gym or the coffee shop and actually stay in touch. Guys mostly just nod at each other for two years.
But yeah, as of right now, all the stuff I do — the gym, work, golf, any kids’ things — it’s just kind of cordial with the other grown-up dads or couples. It’s not like, “Oh hey, we hit it off” with anybody.
So I’m curious what everybody has in their life and what they think of it. I don’t know most of people’s last names at my job, to be honest with you, or many of their phone numbers. So I don’t know if that’s just me. Maybe I’m the unsocial one. I don’t know. I tend to be a pretty friendly guy, but I’m just curious about this, and tell me your thoughts about it.
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And that’s it. I hope you guys can feel me on this one. I understand it’s a weird subject, and I don’t know what made me think of it, but let me know. I hope you guys enjoy, and we will see you next time on The Everything Blog. Bye now.