From Friends to Best Friends

Many people have varied definitions of what a best friend is, but there’s one common response about having such a super-close buddy: a friend with whom you can be very close.

The nice thing about becoming best friends is that feeling and emotions can come naturally if you want to be as close as you can get to him or her. Are you thinking of love? The closer you get, the better you can share your feelings to him or her.

Signs of Being Best Friends

“We were best friends for about two months before we got engaged,” says 23-year-old Kate, who at the time of his writing was all set to get married to her beau Trey, “because I really wanted to know him much better.” At first, Trey insisted on moving to the boyfriend stage as soon as possible, but Kate made the relationship stay at the best friend level. “I wanted to be sure,” she adds.

There are also certain qualities to keep in mind when you’re both already at the best friend stage. Although feelings and emotions can come naturally, you should keep them in check because your closeness to each other isn’t a free-for-all in which you can just say or do anything without fear of negative reaction. The art of being best friends has its guidelines, too:

You Permit Your Best Friend to be Himself/Herself

You accept your best friend for who he or she is. This is the stuff many songs and poems are made of-remember lines such as “I love you just the way you are” and “love me for what I am”? You endear yourselves to each other not because you try to make each other conform to some ideal standards but because you respect each other’s unique individuality.

You Give Each Other Personal Space

You try not to invade the inner space of each other. You go to a fancy restaurant together, but you don’t insist that he or she pick a certain dish on the menu. She goes out with her other friends, but you don’t feel jealous. He likes to spend a lot of time in his room at home,and you don’t call him up to disturb his solitude. In short, you allow a person time to be with himself or herself.

You Are Ready to Give and Receive

This is a give and take relationship, where you learn to give even if you don’t feel generous, and receive even if you feel unworthy. If he or she gives you a good feeling, learn to reciprocate. Nothing makes a friend happier than to know that his or her efforts are appreciated and reciprocated.