guest post: "Friends are Everywhere....if you choose to be one"

Making friends is easy right? I used to think so until I moved to New Zealand oh so many years ago and knew no one. The boy I was dating at the time....or shall I say, followed half way across the world to be with had the gift of attracting amazing friends really fast. I was jealous, and my jealousy only made me more frustrated that I had not formed a group of like-minded gals to shop and have tea with. One day as I was moaning that I was bored and had no friends he looked me straight in the eye and said, "I can't help you, you're just going to have to go out there and find some friends". He was right....damn!

So I went out and tried, then I tried harder. I put myself in yoga studios, cafes, mediation circles and even rock-climbing gyms to meet people around town. Before I knew it I had formed some really great friendships with people who are now my dearest friends. Fast forward 6 years to my present life in San Diego. Here I have my reliable group of besties and yoga buddies. Those I call up to go running with and those I can go shopping with. It's easy to forget that even creating these friendships took a lot of time.

The same is true for making friends online through blogging, Etsy and other social media outlets. We may have to be the first one to give a smile and introduce ourselves. You're blog or Etsy shop is such a beautiful expression of you and it feels good to have people visit, and keep visiting, sharing conversations and giving you a compliment on your latest post. So be the good friend first, chances are it will come back to you!

Making friends through blogging, Etsy and social media is a rare opportunity to meet people you would never have come into contact with otherwise. They are likely inspiring, like-minded and understand you on a totally different level than your real-life friends. So hop online, check out Etsy shops that you love and like-minded blogs. Send them a compliment, start a friendship and keep showing up for that new friendship. I once found a yoga teacher in Barre, Massachusetts through Twitter. Now every time I go there, (my current and awesome boyfriend is a Mass-hole), I visit her yoga classes. If it weren't for Twitter I would never have known about her.

How will you reach out to someone new today?

Thanks, Diane! I really enjoyed reading her post, and I agree with her on making friends online/through Etsy. I've met lots of awesome people this way. :) Make sure to visit Diane's blog and follow her on Twitter, and check out my guest post on her blog here.

Comments

  1. what a great guest post!! this is so true!! I've made a lot of great friends on my book blog, but i'm just starting my vintage blog :)

    http://inthehammockvintage.blogspot.com

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