Making Friends As An Adult: Why Is It So Hard?

As a kid, it's so easy to make friends. Between school, sports, and other extracurricular activities, friendships are practically built in for you. But let's talk about making friends as an adult... If you, too, are an adult, you know that this can be a challenging feat at times. We find ourselves yearning for connection, but the reality of making new friends can feel daunting. But why?

If you're an adult, you likely have a career, you may have a family, and you certainly don't have much free time to spare. Adulthood keeps us busy, and gone are the days of endless free time. Squeezing in friend-making time can feel like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. It feels impossible!

For many adults, as sad as this sounds, vulnerability is not in their vocabulary. Don't worry - I'm guilty of this too sometimes. It can be so hard to open up to someone new, especially as a well established adult with a long, long history. We've also been hurt before, and opening up to new people requires a level of trust that can be hard to build.

While making friends as an adult can feel like one of the hardest tasks in the world for a plethora of reasons, it is not impossible! It's actually probably easier than you think. The key to making friends as an adult is finding hobbies and activities that you enjoy participating in. Take that dance class, join that club, and volunteer for that local cause that is so near and dear to your heart. This participation will bring you into contact with like-minded individuals who are passionate about the same things you are! It's just like those extracurriculars we dove into as kids that brought us some of our closest childhood friends. Get out there, and prepare to be surprised by the amazing connections you make!

Happy National Best Friends Day! While on the surface, this may seem like one of those "fake" holidays you often see, there's actually some history behind it.

According to Calendarr.com, U.S. Congress declared June 8 as National Best Friends Day back in 1935. Why June 8, though? That date was chosen due to it falling between spring and summer, so the weather would likely be nice enough to enjoy an outdoor activity with your BFF.

However, the holiday really took off thanks to social media. Various platforms provide a fun, easy way to share photos of your best friend along with hashtags like #NationalBestFriendsDay.

As with any holiday, a little celebrating is in order. Here are just some of our favorite best friends from film and TV. Enjoy!

If your friend’s dad threatened military school if you two flunked your history class, you’d travel through time to pull out all the stops to keep your friend at your school, too!  

Going to your ten-year high school reunion is kind of like time travel. For Romy and Michelle, it’s their way to stick it to the “A-Group” who bullied them for those formative four years.

Few friendships are as beloved as Cory and Shawn. Boy Meets World fans saw them grow up from middle school to college and all of the ups and downs that come with those years.

Evan and Seth are graduating from high school and are about to go their separate ways to college, but there’s nothing that brings two friends together than the hopes of potentially hooking up with their dream girls at the biggest party of their lives.

They don’t fit in and are too sardonic for Lawndale High or really any high school in existence. Thankfully, they have each other to lean on and viewers got to make fun of their fellow classmates with them.

Think of them like a super-rude, modern version of The Odd Couple. Their shenanigans throughout the entire “View Askewniverse” honestly deserve their own list.

Bound together thanks to rock and roll and an amazing cable access show, Wayne and Garth were “goals” decades before that phrase became a thing.

They should be too dumb to function, but Harry and Lloyd’s absurd stupidity leads them to equally absurd adventures. At the end of the day, they truly do care about each other. Also, Harry is right; you can't triple stamp a double stamp.

Desperately trying to satisfy the munchies, escaping Gitmo and finding a new Christmas tree. Is there nothing these two stoners can’t do?!