‘He is the better half of me’: Readers share what they love about their best friend
“Although our lives have changed significantly over the years, we are always there to support each other,” one respondent said to our poll.
What makes a best friend a best friend?
Maybe it’s their uplifting energy or the synergy you feel when you’re together. That’s what Dick L. from Newton said he loves about his best friend.
“He’s so friggin ‘fun and always kind and has an amazing, infectious laugh and he loves my kids like they are his own kids,” he said.
Maybe it’s their sense of humor, or the inside jokes swapped between the two of you for years beyond their initial invention, like it is for Kristen L. from Saugus.
“His sense of humor and our random inside jokes we’ve had since college [that] even after 20+ years of friendship still make us laugh,” she said. “And even if we don’t talk for a week or two, when we finally do we can pick up like there was no time or distance between us.
Really, though, what makes a best friend a best friend is different for everyone — and rightfully so. After all, best friendship is something special to behold, and it’s a distinction made entirely by and for you.
When we asked Boston.com readers what they loved most about their best friend, they shared a range of anecdotes, from loving the little things their best friend does — “My best friend calls me back and calls me out of the blue for no reason at all!” Tom from Norwood said — to the bigger, more conceptual things: “She always thinks of others before she thinks of herself,” Tara from Canton said of her best friend.
Our friends are there to challenge us, too, something an anonymous reader from Hopkinton said her closest friend does for her.
“She loves me for everything that I am, yet pushes me to be my best. She gives great advice, fashion and otherwise, and makes me laugh. And, she is super thoughtful,” she said.
Sometimes, best friendship isn’t even defined by the conversations you have together, but rather, by what goes unsaid. Denise from Holliston said she and her best friend are so in sync that they “understands my eye language.”
Below you’ll find a sampling of reader responses sharing what they love most about their best friend.
Tune into latest season of the Love Letters podcast, which features stories about people who got crucial help or assistance in their romantic lives — from friends, exes, therapists, family, and more — for more stories.
Responses have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity.
What’s your favorite thing about your best friend?
“Danielle and I have been best friends since college. We are now in our 40s and have seen each other through grad school, careers, marriage, divorce, and kids (our sons are close friends). Although our lives have changed significantly over the years, we are always there to support each other. Danielle is the one person who knows me better than I know myself. She is truly the keeper of my past self and is able to remind me of who I have been and really am at my core, despite whatever challenges I am facing. She is unfailingly kind and generous, with a dry, sharp wit and a propensity for sarcasm. She is truly my ride-or-die and I am so grateful that our friendship has endured three decades (and counting), even as she has recently moved to the West Coast. Friendships that span many years and many life stages are especially precious, as those friends become the ones who mirror back to us who we have been and who we are becoming.” — Beth F., Framingham
“I remember the day I met my best friend. We were both in basic training at the very beginning of our enlistment in the Navy, and I knew at that moment that we would be friends for the rest of our lives. That was in 1987 and it is still as strong after all these years. He was the first person I had ever met that embodied everything I found a gentleman should be and his stories of growing up in boarding school in Europe still fascinate me. He is the better half of me and there is no one I would rather have as a best friend. I was made whole that day.” – Jameson M., Lynnfield
“She lives around the corner. Our mothers were friends, we are both part of our neighborhood as were our families. We played cribbage all through the pandemic. We still talk on the phone, not text, and we do things like shopping and going out to breakfast.” – Dottie D., Cambridge
“I love my best friend Christa for more reasons than I can count. If I want to have an honest, forthright, thoughtful answer to a problem or question she will provide me with just that. She is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met and challenges me to be a better version of myself. She is beautiful inside and out and absolutely hilarious. We obviously have a lot in common!” – Meghan B., Harvard
“We understand each other and if one needs the other, no questions asked, we are just there for each other. On the other hand, day to day, we understand we both have lives and other friends and neither one of us is ‘needy’ in terms of time together. And we know where the bodies are buried — and have helped bury them!” – Boston.com reader on Instagram
“They, a group of us, are always up for adventures and kvetching. Drinking wine, smashing things, whatever!” – Boston.com reader on Instagram
Boston.com occasionally interacts with readers by conducting informal polls and surveys. These results should be read as an unscientific gauge of readers’ opinion.
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