We all have friends, and friends come in all sizes, shapes, nature and maturity levels. The difficult part is how do tackle the certain issues that our friends may have. After all, at the end of the day, nobody is perfect. So what do we do with the girlfriend who can’t stop to gossip, or the friend that has to do everything we do, or the one that can be extremely critical and cold?
Here are some kinds of people that we come across everyday:
1. The Gas-bag:
They are the ones who know what everyone is doing, where, how and with whom. In opposition to the common assumption, the truth is that guys can gossip way more than girls. So if we have a friend who loves to gossip what do we do? Guilty as we maybe, but we cannot deny the fact that its always fun to hear a piece of gossip about someone (anyone!) to pass your time. But when the object of discussion is you, it can be very stingy. The best thing to do is to NOT let this friend of yours share a piece of gossip with you as well. Tell them it’s not very kind to invade people’s privacy because what goes around comes around. And remember, you might also want to keep some of your secrets to yourself even though they are your best friends because you always run the risk of having the world know about it.
2. The parents:
They are not your actual biological parents. They belong to the same age group as you but have a deep rooted desire of parenthood, which is not bad though, which they want to fulfill with you. They have all the solutions to your problems, the problem here: it seems like you are talking to your mom. It always gets a little difficult to actually open up with them no matter how close they are to you, considering the fact that they think on a level beyond yours and tend to get preachy. Now, if you have a problem where you would want to take advice from someone mature, they are the perfect folks to reach out to. However, you’d rather bury your face in sand than seek their advice for a childish or teenage everyday problem. For e.g., ask them whether or not you should go out on a date with that music guy, and watch them flip out.
3. The ‘Too close for comfort’ friends:
This is a very common problem. Now, we must understand that people who have been friends for ages will be curious about what is going on in the lives of each other. They will be best friends with your mates and the hosts of all your parties. However, some friends might forget to draw the line. They are the over enthusiastic friends who want to know everything that goes on in your life. Right from what you wore on your date, to where you went, what you had and whether or not you kissed. There is no other way out for that situation. You have to take a firm stand and tell them to take a step back because you would like some privacy, but make sure that you say it nicely, because remember they question because they care.
4. The critics:
These are the friends that will show no mercy if they see you do something wrong. They can be very judgmental and critical. They are the ones who are so straightforward that it actually hurts and always manage to see the errors a machine can skip. They are the ones who will tell you not to fool around with that moron, rather coldly, because they do not see anything good coming out of it. They are the ones who will ask you to stop missing on to college and work because you can not get enough of your enjoyment. They are your well-wishers, but they can annoy every nerve of your body. The best way to deal with them is to probably not argue with them, because frustrating as it maybe, they are usually right. You can ask them to be a little less critical, as chances are that they may not even realize they are being mean.
5. The copy-cats:
They are the ones who will do everything you do. You like that top, they like it too; you take those classes, they take it too; you do something and they want to do the exact same thing. Although it might be flattering initially, it is never fun to watch your identity and individuality being taken away almost literally right under your nose. It is very difficult to deal with them because there is no easy way to ask them to stop being your Xerox copy without sounding rude. The best thing to do in this case is simply to make sure you don’t talk much about your plans with them, just in case they mend theirs too. Help them discover what they like, what they want to do and give them a lot of space and freedom even if they are your BFFs.
6. The private ones:
They are the exact opposite of the ones who are too close for comfort. They could be the best friend you can ever get, yet they seem to be aloof at most times. What you have to understand is that they have hearts warmer than you think and emotions that are very tightly controlled. Give them the right outlet, and they can make a really fun company. Take them to movies, take them to places with a lot of expression that will help them open up. You know that friend of yours who will never talk about the problem to you but rather sulk, or the friend who is all happy go lucky but can be totally out of scene on some days, or the one who seems like something is always worrying her, chances are that something really is. Give them time, don’t be pushy. They probably don’t like to discuss their problems so there is nothing to feel bad about if they say they don’t want to talk about it. They value what you have to say but are generally afraid of what they might have to hear.
It is almost impossible to find a friend who fit in to all your expectations. And come to think of it, not having any single one of these can be pretty annoying too, or else, who will you ask about what to wear on that date of yours, what assignments you need to do, if the guy or girl you like is single, whether you should take that class up or not and what to get your parents for their anniversary. As they say, we all have friends.
