Making Connections

I am now in week 3 of Spring Term. My two online courses that I teach for Wenatchee Valley College are really beginning to get interesting. I am always intrigued to watch the process of relationships building between my students and with me, even though we do not meet each other face to face. It has certainly prompted me to rethink what it means to "know" someone or to call them a "friend." I know a great many people as colleagues, social acquaintances, or in some other specific context. Some of those I also consider to be my friends. Some I don't. The factors that distinguish friend from neutral acquaintances seem to have shifted for me over the years. What I am willing to give and what I expect to receive in a friendship keep evolving.

How about you? What determines if some you know is thought of as "friend"?

Each week in my Sociology of the Family class the students complete an assignment on a different topic. This week's topic is friendship. Take a look at the assignment questions I've listed below. If you like, pick one (or more) to give some thought to - whether just in your own world or share it here.

And whether you want to write anything or not.... I hope you go connect with a friend and let him/her know how much you value that bond. I know that my world would be a very bleak place indeed if not for the comfort and companionship of true friends.

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1. What does "friendship"mean to you?

2. What are the qualities you look for in a good friend?

3. When does an acquaintance become a friend?

4. What makes a friendship become more or less significant / intimate to you?

5. What aspects of yourself do you share with a friend that you do not share with others?

6. What aspects of yourself do you usually hold back in your friendships?

7. What are some behaviors you expect from your friends

8. What are some behaviors you would not tolerate in your friends?

9. How does one's willingness to be vulnerable impact friendship development?

10. How would you deal with sexual and / or romantic feelings (either your own or the other person's) in a relationship you are committed to keeping as "just friends" ?

11. How do you deal with hurt feelings, conflicts, or betrayal of trust is a friendship?

12. How have you changed as an individual due to the influence of friends?