10 Stages of Every Great Friendship.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed a pattern in the growth of your friendship with your really close friends, but I can tell you that in 2019, this is possibly what’s going to happen. I didn’t even know that my best friends and I were going to be this close until we went through certain ‘rites of passage‘ (for the lack of a better phrase).

There are experiences that you share in life only and only with your best friends, and they aren’t like a bucket list that needs to be checked out. It is a gradual, beautiful process that I am ready to let you all in on! About time I wrote something fun, too!

ALSO READ: 10 Signs of a Healthy Friendship.

1. The ‘Hey, what’s up?’ almost-strangers stage.
Congratulations! You think this person is interesting. This is the beginning of every good and bad friendship on this planet! You’re both awkward about texting or talking to each other, and neither one of you wants to make small talk because it’s boring! It’s where you’re still deciding whether you should let them in on the inner crazy without coming off as too clingy.

2. The ‘You’re so nice’ formality stage.
So you’ve made a possible new friend. This stage is where you give each other endless compliments. It can be just about anything and you’ll find a way to be nice to each other and compliment each others’ ears off. ‘Hello? Yeah, is that Keanu Reeves? I found two people saying “YOU’RE breathtaking!” to each other for the last hour!‘

3. The ‘OMG, no way! Me too!’ stage.
Here’s where you slowly start letting them in on your real personality and begin discovering things about each other. Chances are that you’ll also begin to bond over similar tastes, and exchange music and Netflix watch suggestions. It’s where you truly begin to bond!

4. The text-all-night stage.
This is a stage that you’ll never move on from once you’ve bonded with someone to a certain extent. You’ve already shared your likes and dislikes when it comes to pop culture. But you know what they say about not knowing someone truly until you’ve stayed up with them? That’s true. You really have the best conversations with friends at night.

ALSO READ: Online Friendships: What You Need to Know- Part 1.

5. The sleepover stage.
This is just an enhanced version of the text-all-night stage. This is where you spend the night talking to each other about exes, crushes, relationships, friendships and just about everything else that comes in between. This is quite possibly where things start getting a tad more serious in every friendship. Unfortunately, a lot of friendships fall apart after this stage and that sucks.

6. The random meme stage.
So you know each other well enough to understand what kind of pop culture reference the other likes. Here’s where the memes begin. It’s quite literally the point of no return. Once you start sharing memes with each other, you might as well make it official that you’re fast friends, which of course, you are!

ALSO READ: Online Friendships: What You Need to Know- Part 2.

7. The ‘Let the freak out’ crazy stage.
Now. One might think that this stage comes earlier in the friendship, but no it doesn’t! You start sharing inside jokes, personal facts, life experiences that you’ve never felt anybody else needed to know till date. This is where you forge a stronger bond with each other. You’re truly transparent with each other past this stage.

8. The ‘I might not say it, but I love you’ stage.
Here’s where you realize that your friend has become an important part of your everyday life and you are so in awe of the incredible person that they are. You’ve probably shared some crazy experiences with each other by this stage and it’s where you don’t really have to say how much you value each other’s existence in your life because it already shows.

9. The no-filter stage.
What? You already know everything about each other. There’s nothing left to hide, boo! You can easily tell each other stuff that you don’t want to hear, but 100% need to hear. Like “That boy is trouble. I do not approve!” or “Tell me you’re not wearing that out!” You love each other, but you’ll totally call each other’s BS out.

ALSO READ: Online Friendships: What You Need to Know- Part 3.

10. The family stage.
This is the best stage, where you’re both 100% true to each other and yourselves. You can be whoever you want to be in each other’s presence and not be afraid of judgment. You’ll defend each other, walk through hell, and stick through the best and worst of times because that’s how strongly you’ve bonded with each other. ‘Family‘, maybe not by blood, but definitely by heart.

Don’t worry about not checking off each and every stage here when it comes to your friendships. It doesn’t always work this way (just most of the time!). You may skip a few stages here and there, but remember that friendships aren’t based on a technicality. They’re formed through the heart!

Cheerio! Xx

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Hey guys! I hope you liked this post. If you did, leave a comment to let me know or share this with your friends and encourage as many social shares as you can! You can also say ‘Hi’ to me on Twitter and Instagram. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.
Yours truly,
The Shubhster.

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