Five Friends to Keep After College

So, you graduated and said goodbye to your home- and your family- of four years. No longer can you so easily drag your roommates out of bed at midnight to meet the gang at the local bar down the block or make impromptu late-night diner trips.

The truth is, maintaining those ties is going to get a lot harder as everyone starts moving in different directions. Some friendships may start to fizzle and fade, and you’re all going to have to start putting in some extra effort.

Here are the five friends you’d better hang onto as you transition into post-grad life:

1. The Overachiever

The person who took extra classes and was president of their young professionals club and tutored middle school kids and scheduled every free second in their day- you know where that friend is right now? Employed. And they’re most likely already friends with their boss and on their way to a promotion, because that’s just how they roll. Keep this friend around for career advice, connections, and inspiration. Not to mention job opportunities- hey, if they nagged you to join student government, they’ll probably nag you to apply for that open position in their company too.

2. The Networker

Also known as the social butterfly, this is the person who makes it her job to keep up with everyone’s lives. This person will help you stay connected to all of your friends and will keep you updated on major life events. She can probably ask that one friend if he’ll recommend you for a position, see if she can set you up on a blind date with her co-worker, find you a new roommate faster than Craigslist can, AND invite you to that barbeque on Saturday. Yeah, hang on to that one.

3. The Emotional Rock

You thought adolescence was emotional? Welcome to young adulthood, where everything gets more real but at least you can soothe some woes with a night at the bar. The emotional rock is the person who knows how to deal with your existential moments and lowest lows. They understand when you need to talk it out and when you just need them to bring over wine and junk food and not say anything at all, and their advice usually makes you feel like you can at least get out of bed tomorrow. You’ll need this person more than ever post-college and pre-career.

4. The Happy Hour Aficionado

You know the kids in school that had every drink special at every bar memorized and that spearheaded the plan to sneak a keg into the dorms during a hurricane? Keep in touch, because “adults” in the “real world” want to have fun too, and nothing’s wrong with forgetting that 9 to 5 grind with the most fun-loving people you know come Friday night. Just remember, Monday will suck twice as much as it did in college if you refuse to acknowledge the change in your tolerance level.

5. The Ride-or-Die

This one’s a no-brainer. The person who’s always been there, no matter what, no questions asked, no explanation needed. At 3 p.m. you’ll text about nothing at all, and at 3 a.m. you’ll call each other in crisis mode. You know exactly who this person is and you don’t need some lame reason as to why you should keep them around. Basically you have to, because you can’t imagine post-grad life (or any part of life, really) without them by your side.

Bring it on, real world.

Tags : Adulthood, advice, Advice for Men, Advice for Women, Alcohol, best friend, College, friend, Girlzone, graduation, Happiness, job, keep, life, Millennial, Networking, overachiever, post-grad, top 5, young adulthood