As friends grow up they also grow apart. That is the way of life. But you can change it if you really want to keep your friend in your life. You can always rekindle your faded friendship.
When friends graduate from college, they go about their ways in life and get busy with either pursuing higher studies in foreign cities and countries or their jobs. These are the two most common reasons why a friendship between two individuals fades.
You might reminisce the old days that you and your friends spent together; The times you spent in the college campus bursting out into loud and cheerful laughter over something, or grabbing a bite of sandwich together after long hours of lectures, going trekking together, meeting up at someone’s place for the purpose of completing assignments but ending up watching movies together till late at night.
Even though the times have changed, you can still relive those days just in a slightly different manner. Don’t know how? It’s okay. We’ll help you out to rekindle your faded friendship.
Be the one to text/call and initiate the conversation
It is you who are missing the bond you shared with your friend/s. So you must first text and initiate the conversation rather than waiting for your friend to. Send a simple “Hi, how are you?” text at first and later extend the conversation by talking about general stuff by asking questions like “how are aunty and uncle?” “what are you doing these days?”.
You can also call and have a similar conversation. I suggest, keep the call short as it can get a little awkward considering the two of you will be talking to each other after a long time.
Initiating a conversation will show your friend the effort you are willing to take to rekindle your faded friendship.
Follow up. Stay Consistent
Calling once and then losing touch again for another 6-7 months makes no sense. Follow up. Call at least once a week and text after every two days. A simple good morning and night text every day also works. When you start talking, you will understand how their life has changed. This will help you in deciding what your next step should be or how often should you talk. The only reason to follow up and stay consistent is to foster the growth of your friendship. When you keep the consistency, you develop a habit of talking with him/her. After you two fall into the habit of talking to each other, your friend will start initiating the conversation on times when you don’t.
Take out the time to meet and hangout
When you two get comfortable talking again, the next step you should take is to decide on meeting and hanging out. You can either meet for lunch or hangout at either one of your houses. Once you meet, talk about the old days, refresh the memories, and do something different and new to start creating new memories.
Be prepared to accept the changes
You two have gone long without talking. This means that you won’t be aware of the things that happened in each other’s lives and how your friend has shaped to become what he/she is now. You both are going to be different than what you’ll were years back. So be ready to embrace the changes that your friend will be bringing along with him/her. However, don’t stress too much about it because no matter how much he/she changes his/her soul is going to be the same.
Open up and share
While you listen to everything your friend shares with you, you too can share and open up to your friends. Keep transparency, share your secrets, discuss your life and problems with him/her and ask for help and suggestions. This will make your friend feel special and important, bringing him/her closer to you.
Don’t carry your ego with you
If you are willing to rekindle your faded friendships, the ego is something that you need to put in the bin. If you allow your ego to meddle with your relationship with your friend, your friendship is most likely to see the face of darkness. Don’t expect your friend to text you first after you text her. It’s not a game where each player plays chance by chance. Progress takes time. Eventually, your friend too will show the willingness to pick up from where you two left off. So for a while, let your ego take a setback.
Friends make life worth living. They are someone we must hold onto for life. If you and your friend/friends have drifted apart, then you must start to rekindle your faded friendship. It’s the best thing gift you will gift yourself.
