This one’s for the ladies

Frankly, most of my posts are for the ladies. I am a lady. Unless some guy steps up to do a “he said, she said” post with me (that would be pretty cool, actually…any volunteers?), the gentlemen in my audience might want to go grab a snack or something.

I was talking with my friend Tina about how hard it can be to find good girl friends. I’ve written before about how judgmental women can be toward each other, and, as far as I’ve come since my awkwardly-dressed middle school years, it can still be really intimidating to strike up a conversation in a group of women you don’t know well. At least in a group of guys, I can flirt. In fact, guys will often be your friend because they secretly want to do you. Women actually have to enjoy your presence.

This past week I went to a holiday party thrown by a girl who has taken it upon herself to arrange monthly get-togethers for young women in my city who were a member of my sorority in college. I had never met most of the 12 or so girls there, but we automatically had one thing in common (and a host of funny rush stories to tell), and the conversation flowed easily, as did the wine. I work for a company that’s about 80% male, and the girl-talk was a refreshing change from the “that’s what she said” contests that dominate lunch breaks with my co-workers.

Happily, I have a solid group of female friends here — some from college, some from my last job, some from my current job — but I always welcome new ones. Good girl friends will laugh with you, cry with you, compliment your sparkly new dress, and give you advice. Ladies, if you’re lacking friends like these, go out there and get involved in activities where you can meet some. Finding friends can be as awkward of a process as finding dates, especially if you’ve just moved to a new city.