They’re our big brothers while we’re away at school. They act protective when we need them to most. They give us a break from some of the unnecessary drama that often consumes our everyday lives.
They’re our guy friends.
Perhaps we girls don’t always appreciate our guy friends as much as we should because we never really reflect on what they do for us. The beauty of having friends of the opposite gender is that it offers a new perspective on nearly everything. Think about it.
When we are having, say, serious boyfriend problems, our best girlfriends are (of course) there for us. They tell us we are right to be upset and hand us a pint of Ben and Jerry’s finest. Simply put, they’re amazing. But what our guy friends can offer is not a delicious frozen treat, but rather a different take on our problems. They can put themselves in our boyfriend’s position and try to describe to us what he’s maybe feeling or thinking. Their advice on what to do is different, too. Our guy friends can suggest to us solutions that we or our girlfriends may have never thought of before.
Another perk of our guy friends is that we can forget for a while the pressures of girl world.
Junior supply chain and information systems major Emily Gatautis explains her thoughts on the matter.
“Guys balance everything out, so, when you’re tired of having to compete with all of the Longchamp bags and Tory Burch boots, it’s cool to have someone that you can chest bump and burp with,” Gatautis says.
Now, this isn’t to say that we can’t burp and show our true colors with our girlfriends, but with our favorite guys we know a nod of respect followed by a reply burp is almost a guarantee.
But, our relationship with our guy friends is not simply a one way street. They are important because we can help each other. If there’s a pretty girl across the room at a party that your guy friend is just a little too shy to talk to, enter us. We can be his official wing woman and talk him up. I mean, it’s the least we can do for the boy who listens to us rant during “that time of month,” when our hormones are in full swing and we pile chocolate into our mouths.
Having guy friends is so important to just keep the peace in our lives. They are the yin to our yang, the milk to our Oreo, and the Lucas Scott to our Haley James. Sometimes they are better to us than we may even realize, so, here’s to all the loyal guy friends out there. Thanks for always being there when we need you.
Photo by Natalie Runnerstrom
