Friends
The good ones. The complicated ones. The ones you’re still figuring out.
Friendships can be some of the best parts of being a teenager.
They can also be confusing.
One minute you’re laughing so hard you can’t breathe, and the next you’re staring at a text thinking, “Okay… what did THAT mean?”
Friends can make you feel understood, supported, included, and completely yourself.
But friendships can also bring hurt feelings, jealousy, pressure, misunderstandings, changing friend groups, and moments when you wonder if someone is actually being a good friend to you.
This page is about figuring out what friendship means to you — what feels good, what doesn’t, and what you deserve from the people you let into your life.
A good friend makes me feel…
I feel most like myself around people who…
Something I really value in a friendship is…
One thing I bring to a friendship is…
You deserve good friends — and being a good friend matters too.
Something I don’t want to put up with anymore is…
You’re allowed to notice when something doesn’t feel right, even if you’ve been friends with someone for a long time.
When I feel left out, I usually…
Being left out hurts. And sometimes our brains immediately jump to “Nobody likes me.”
Before deciding that’s the whole story, give yourself a minute to figure out what actually happened and what you need.
When a friend hurts my feelings, I wish I could say…
You don’t have to pretend something didn’t bother you just to keep the peace.
One boundary I want to get better at keeping is…
A boundary isn’t punishment.
It’s just a way of saying, “This is what I’m okay with, and this is what I’m not.”
A friend I appreciate is…
What I appreciate about them is…
Sometimes it’s worth noticing the people who make life feel a little easier just by being in it.
Friendship Reality Check 🚦
Not every awkward moment is a red flag.
Friends mess up. People have bad days. Texts get misunderstood. Sometimes everybody is just tired and weird.
But patterns matter.
So… time for the highly scientific friendship inspection. 😂
🟢 GREEN FLAGS — (YES, WE LIKE THIS)!
☐ They’re happy when something good happens to you.
☐ You can be weird around them without receiving a full performance review.
☐ They listen instead of waiting for their turn to talk.
☐ They respect your “no.”
☐ You don’t have to constantly prove that you’re their friend.
☐ They can disagree with you without becoming your sworn enemy.
☐ They apologize when they actually mess up.
☐ You can have other friends without creating an international incident.
☐ They don’t share things you told them privately.
☐ You can laugh together and talk about real stuff.
☐ You leave hanging out with them feeling good more often than drained.
☐ They like you — not the version of you they can control.
Mostly green?
Lovely. Protect these humans. 💚
🔴 RED FLAGS — Mmm… NO...Thats What We Are NOT Going To Do...
☐ They constantly make “jokes” that hurt you and then say, “Relax, I was kidding.”
☐ They only text when they need something.
☐ They make you feel guilty for hanging out with other people.
☐ They pressure you to do things you’ve already said you don’t want to do.
☐ Your secrets somehow keep becoming public information. 👀
☐ They embarrass you in front of other people for laughs.
☐ Everything somehow turns into a competition.
☐ You’re constantly worried they’re mad at you.
☐ They give you the silent treatment to punish you.
☐ They expect you to be available 24/7 like you’re Friendship Customer Support.
☐ You’re always apologizing — even when you’re not sure what you did.
☐ You feel like you have to become a different version of yourself around them.
Checking a whole bunch of these?
Yeahhhh…
🚩🚩🚩