Friendship Advice From Our Best Friends

Making, maintaining, and ending friendships, straight from the source

Bella and I often talk about how lucky we got — finding such wonderful friends so early in our lives. Making friends, maintaining their strength, and knowing when it’s time to part is a skill, and it takes practice. Both of use are still learning all of this. So, we decided to go straight to the source, and solicit advice from our friends…

How You Met Your Best Friends

Sofia: Saying yes to things, asking good questions, smiling, and showing up. Everyone can be a friend.

Martine: Oh many! At Yale, random housing assignments, Schwartzman yoga classes, pregames during camp yale, the Acorn, spending the summer in New Haven. At home, I’ve known pretty much all my best friends since we were in elementary school. I met one friend in toddler and tango (our moms met, really).

Julia: Swimming, I hate the sport (at this point in life), but love (some of) the people. And in college, went through similar trauma bonding from a variety of elements.

Emiliano: At Yale, my best friends are either people I met in high school or people I met through some group activity we were all doing together (i.e. Edon, my Fro-Co group, Commencement).

Andrea: Alexis was my roommate, Bella was in my pre-orientation group (I was mute until we became friends), Lila tossed a McGillicuddy's shooter onto my lap, Grey and I sat quietly next to each other at an early days pregame, Lila brought Susannah to a frat party, and we danced together.

Isa: I met Bella through Tiktok DMs in 2020 (unlikely story but true). When I met Emiliano on the first day of rehearsal for Yale's 2023 commencement musical, our friend Thomas said "you two don't know each other? I swear you guys were, like, made to be best friends." They were right. On the first day I met Betty, after being introduced as suitemates, she walked past the open door to my bedroom at 5 A.M. and said "Why are you awake?" The answer is a long story.