You Can't Call Them Your Best Friend Until You’ve Gone Through These 12 Stages Of Friendship

Jan 03, 2019

Meeting a new friend is always exciting. You have fun together and are always polite. The longer you know her, though, the more that facade falls away. You can tease each other like nobody's business.

Brutal honesty is the name of the game. Those neatly established boundaries start to disappear. This is the moment where you know you're truly best friends. That progression is fascinating, but it doesn't happen immediately. You have to go through 12 stages first.

Like we said, this is where most friendships begin. You trade compliments. You think carefully before you tell her anything private. To be honest, you're even a little on your guard around her. You hesitate even if she asks you a serious question.

Ok, so you're really starting to hit it off now. You'd like to hang out more. The problem is, you're afraid this makes you seem "clingy" or "weird." Is she going to get annoyed if you text her to hang out? You're still much more cautious at this phase.

Thank goodness - you can finally breathe a sigh of relief because she's not scared off! You can text her a bajillion times and she'll always respond. She even understands if you get a little desperate when she hasn't called back.

You now feel comfortable telling her exactly what's on your mind. (Even if before it might have felt mean.) You can give her tough love. And you know she'll give that to you right back.

At this point, you might worry that your friendship is on the rocks. The two of you seem to argue all the time. Often you fight about the dumbest little things. You yell at her and hurl insults like there's no tomorrow. Then, all of a sudden, the clouds clear. It's hard to stay mad at her for too long. After all, who else would you dish with?

It's time to paaaaaaarty! Your friend is drinking (maybe a little too much) but you don't hold back. If she's having a good time, you want that, too. You can't wait to plan your next "hoe" activity with her. Whether or dancing or drinking, the best nights with her are the ones you can't really remember the next morning.

Is your boyfriend acting weird? Does something seem...off? You know your BFF always has your back. That means doing some serious investigating if need be. We're talking stalking-FB-and-Instagram levels of detective work. You might even spy on people for each other. That might sound extreme, but you have her best interests at heart.

This phase can be pretty gross. You can talk about bathroom stuff and laugh about it without feeling awkward. So what? We're only human. She helps you embrace it.

Ugh, your bae is being so obnoxious! If he texts you stupid messages, obviously the first step is to screenshot them and show your BFF the evidence. Nothing feels better than complaining about your love life to your best friend. She's always the perfect shoulder to cry on. And if you need to plan revenge, well, she's down for that, too.

You have finally reached the final stage. All the boundaries are gone now. If your friend is fighting with her boyfriend, you're actually the one writing her angry texts for her. You know so much about her problems that they've kind of become yours, too.

The best friends are the ones you can rely on for anything and everything. You've been through good and bad times with her. She's hugged you during your ugliest moments. She's celebrated your successes. You couldn't imagine being friends with anyone else.

Do you have a friend like that? How did you meet? Let us know - and make sure to send this on to them!