friendship formation - how to engage in the process

Kendra McIlvain Vasquez and Kristin George talk about how to engage in the process of friendship formation, and why it's worth it even when it's hard.

For further resources on this topic check out:

Made for People, by Justin Whitmel Earley

Find Your People, by Jennie Allen

Making Friends as Adults; on No Stupid Questions ⁠https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-it-harder-to-make-friends-as-an-adult-replay/⁠

How many hours does it take to make a friend? by Jeffrey A. Hall, University of Kansas ⁠https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0265407518761225#:~:text=Casual%20friendships%20emerge%20around%2030,300%20hr%20of%20time%20spent⁠

Discussion Questions:

What has your journey of friendship formation been like during college? 

How have you seen friendships add value to your life? 

What are some barriers to friendship that you have come up against? Internal barriers (like anxiety, insecurity, etc.) or external barriers (like scheduling conflicts, not meeting many new people, etc.) 

Are there ways you can be more intentional about investing in friendships over the next few months? 

Who is someone you would specifically like to invest more time in?  

What qualities in a friend are especially important to you? How might you display those qualities and be a good friend to others?  

https://chr.jbu.edu/