Building New Friendships As An Adult

One of rudest awakenings I’ve had since graduating is realizing that making new friends as an adult is not an easy thing to do! I definitely took the ease of making friends in school for granted. The thing about adulthood is that it comes with so many responsibilities, which makes building new relationships require more effort than we’re used to putting in.

A Small Win

I do have one friendship success story to share since moving to Canada. The day after I moved into my apartment building, I ran into a young woman in the elevator who turned out to live on my floor. We introduced ourselves (her name is Alexis), chatted for a few minutes, then went our separate ways. I knew I wanted to build upon my first interaction with Alexis, so I had to strike while the iron was still hot.

About two weeks passed, and I decided to bake one of my specialties: chocolate chip banana bread. I figured gifting Alexis a piece of banana bread would plant a friendship seed. I packaged a slice of the bread in a cute bag and included a note with my name and apartment number. 

I knocked on her door to check if she was home and thankfully, she was! She was so appreciative of my gift. We talked for a few minutes and she ended up inviting me to go on a walk with her. Since then, we’ve had breakfast dates, gone on more walks, and are currently updating each other on our holiday plans. 

There are tons of articles that give tips on how to make new friends in adulthood and I’ve put some of them into practice. So far, however, nothing has quite stuck. I’ll keep hoping for the best. Maybe I’ll have another success story to blog about soon. 

How have you found making new friends as an adult? Share your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!