I invited my friend Joy to chat about adult friendships, including our own. We were initially introduced by a mutual acquaintance, and on our very first friend date, we felt an instant connection. Seven months and ten-ish? of hangouts later, we sat down together to reflect on our first impressions, emotional milestones, what we value in friends, and how our approaches to and understanding of friendships have evolved along with our personal growth. 9:30 first “date" exceeded our expectations 12:46 maybe she doesn’t like me 15:00 friends are people who can teach us about skin care, or pottery 19:09 the urge to break the FOB international students stereotype 27:13 why double eye-lid stickers are a red flag for me 30:54 the lack of emotional capacity is a red flag for Joy 37:20 friends need to be comfortable with critism 41:03 “if you can only choose three friends, pick a lawyer, a doctor, a teacher”?! 46:26 if I meet my childhood friends now, we might not even like each other 57:34 why are relationships so much harder than friendships 63:23 we can’t shut off our second brain when recording 🫶 Support me by leaving a five-star review and following the podcast on Instagram: @goodthingshappenpod Music from: https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/happy-days License code: R0SZKCJSLG5BGVQD