1. Sometimes You Just Need to Bitch it Out: Your boyfriend might not get it, and your mom might not get it, but your girlfriends will. Not only will they listen to you vent without passing judgement, but they’ll also chime in and commiserate or complain with you.
2. They Always Find the Silver Lining: Whether you didn’t get the bid to your dream sorority, or you just went through a messy breakup, you can count on your girlfriends to not only make you laugh with inside jokes, but to also find the positives in all your perceived losses. They’ll offer the different perspectives that you’ll probably need to snap out of whatever funk you may be in.
3. They Understand Makeup and Clothes in a Way Guys Never Will: Unless your outfit or makeup is obscenely bad, most guys will tell you that you look “fine” or worse, “nice.” These nondescript adjectives only confuse us girls, and tell us nothing about how we really look. Girlfriends can tell you if your wingtip is too extended, or if your outfit is too monochromatic. You can count on your girls to give the most solid style opinions; we’re experts.
4. You Can Cry Together: Your boyfriend loves you, but there’s only so many times he’s going to be willing to hand you tissues as you sob to The Notebook. With girlfriends, you can cry at the same rom coms you’ve seen a dozen times, and also “awww” over the males who star in them. It’s a girl thing.
5. They’ll Spot a Shady Guy Before You Do: We’ve all been there: you think the guy you’ve been talking to is great, but when you describe his behavior to your girlfriends, they all highlight his red flags and warn you to stay far, far away. Unfortunately, most of us get indignant, ignore our friends’ advice, and pursue said male anyway, but when we realize the error of our ways at least our girlfriends are kind enough not to say “I told you so.”
6. You Can Borrow Each Other’s Clothes: Count your closest friends, and add one. That’s the total number of closets you have access to. Jackpot.
7. They’ll Probably Be Your Bridesmaids: This is very far in the future for some of us, but when the time comes to select your maid of honor and bridesmaids, you’re going to be looking to your girls. You’re basically picking who will be by your side years later when you turn into a Bridezilla.
8. They’ll Always Be There For You: A strong friendship is unbreakable, and won’t just wither away. Your girlfriends will be there for you, and some of them will be there for life. Once you find friends who you click with, your life will be forever altered, and your humor will probably also get a lot dirtier.
View all articles by Jason Olephant