Why do people feel the need to label someone “best friend” “BFF” or “Bestie”? I hate these terms with a passion, and I’ll tell you why.
I’ll admit, it feels nice when someone calls you their BFF. That is until you hear them address their other friends the same way. Wait…what? Why? Feelings can definitely get hurt over this. So much for that special feeling of being somebody’s BFF!
When you call someone your best friend, you are telling that person that you have other friends too, but none as special as him or her. It means something {or it should at least}.
I have run into this several times recently and I get more and more annoyed each time. I tend to not call people my BFF, best friend, bestie or boo. Many friends are fair weather friends, so I try to keep my friends as just that…friends. Sure, I enjoy the company of some of them more than others, but they are all very dear to me.
I became close with a newer friend a couple of years ago, and it kind of made me happy when she said casually that I was her BFF. We enjoy each other so much. We “get” each other and have revealed personal secrets, we have laughed hysterically, and I can be myself around her. Imagine my surprise when she said on a Facebook post, that her BFF sent her flowers for her birthday! There was a photo of the flowers in her office and she was all smiles. They were lovely, but I didn’t send them. Hmmm, did she think I sent them? No, she has several BFFs apparently. I wish I had known that sooner. It isn’t a huge deal or deal breaker for me, but it does sting a little.
I have two other friends, both of whom I became quite close with over the years. One moved away, and the other friend and I hung out a lot. We had so much fun together, and although I knew I wasn’t her “bestie”, I knew I was special. Flip forward a couple of years and now the other two friends are “besties”. This is all fine with me, BUT when the three of us are out together, I think it’s rude when one of them introduces the other to someone, and calls her “bestie”. So I sit there feeling a bit stupid, frankly, as I am introduced as “my other friend”. Wow. Do they not know that this is hurtful and embarrassing? And using the term every now and them…okay, but it is all of the time, and it is just tiresome. I don’t get why their spouses don’t speak up when they witness this, and say to their wives privately, “Hey, you know that is kind of rude, since you were also close with _____”.
Don’t throw these words around…just don’t. Why can’t we just all be “friends”. Inside, you might prefer one friend over another, but keep that to yourself! Just enjoy your friends!!
All of the names that indicate someone is a BFF, just makes my skin crawl these days.
Oh, and it’s kind of juvenile too, especially for our age group.
Rant over!
Wow…after re-reading this, I sound more jealous than anything else. I’m really not – it’s the principle of the damn thing {and I am BIG on principle}.