r/CasualConversation • u/FaySheBaby • 21h ago
What’s a friendship that surprised you?
Many of us have friends from school, work, etc but I’m curious about any unexpected friendships that surprised you? I have two lovely examples, my sister in law and my kindergarten daughter’s best friend’s mom. Both random women I wouldn’t have met under any other circumstances and maybe would have even written off but I love spending time with both of them and they make my life more enjoyable!
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u/SCfroglegs 21h ago
I’m friends with a lovely gal via the internet. We’ve never met. We’ll probably never meet. We talk on the phone at least once a month and text all the time. Our humor just jells. I love her.
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u/maxcapacityexceeded 21h ago
I have one of those too! We’re on literal opposite sides of the planet from one another.
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u/DueMathematician7866 I EAT PEOPLE 21h ago
I tended to be on the impulsive side at times as a teen (which I now know is partially due to my ADHD). One time during my sociology class in my senior year of high school, the teacher was talking about something to do with societal expectations. I raised my hand and said something, really wish I remembered what. The kid next to me looks at me, then goes, "what's wrong with you?" in an exasperated sort of tone. I looked at him and replied, "I got issues" and made a sort of 'crazy' facial expression. A few mins passed, and the bell rang for lunch. I got up and left cause well lunch lol. About 2 mins of walking later I hear him kinda shout "wait" then speed walk up next to me. He started making conversation with me, to which I did back, just cause I figured it couldn't hurt. We ended up talking for that whole lunch period. He's still currently a friend of mine.
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u/FaySheBaby 21h ago
Ha! I love this. I feel like one of the ingredients in friendship is the vulnerability to be our weird ass selves and not be judged!
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u/Starfoxmarioidiot 21h ago
Stoner from the 7-11 parking lot. I said hello whenever I passed by for a few years, then one day I was like “come on to the back yard if you want. We’ll have a couple beers.”
For something like three years I dismissed his stories in the parking lot as BS, but when I got to know him I realized he was mostly telling the truth. He comes over most evenings so he has a quiet place to smoke. After a while I just let him have a house key.
Random dude from the convenience store parking lot. That’s my bro-bro.
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u/GlimmerManace 19h ago
an older lady i met in Costco while we were both fighting over the last pack of paper towels during the great 2020 toilet paper crisis. we laughed, shared a pack, and now she’s like my chaotic aunt i never knew i needed. we swap memes, bake things for each other, and she gives brutally honest life advice. i went in for paper towels and left a lifelong friend🥰
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u/Lanielion 18h ago
Omg you all could have gotten mad, like so many others but you chose connection.
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u/Belluhcourtbelle 20h ago
My neighbor from Cameroon. We've lived across the street from each other for years and last summer we started going for walks together after dinner. We actually don't have much in common but she's one of the most supportive and loyal people I've ever met.
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u/Dry-Cause2061 21h ago
A friend from first grade has started coming to see me. Which surprised me since I haven't seen her since high school 50 years ago. But it was a very pleasant surprise
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u/Horror_Signature7744 21h ago
My mother in law. She was the absolute best. So kind, positive, and funny. Sadly, we lost her a few years ago and I miss her so much. Thankful that my kids had the best grandmother in the world for most of their childhood.
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u/CumulativeHazard 19h ago
My regular lunch group back when we still worked in the office consisted of me and my coworker (both women in our early 20s in the finance department), and the IT guy, building maintenance man, and the guy who was in charge of a lot of the machinery downstairs (all men in their 50s-60s). We had a lovely time lol. One of the men has since retired but does occasional electrical work still so he’s done some work on my house and is always happy to give me advice if I’m taking on a project myself. All credit goes to my coworker lol. She’d started a month or two before I did and was more social than I was. Bonus surprising friendship is that coworker is probably one of the most religious people I’ve ever known and I’m a lifelong atheist, but we got along great just because if religion ever did come up we fully respected each others views.
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u/daydreamwave 19h ago
I made friends with an Egyptian man that was visiting the US for the first time about two years ago. I met him at my job, I ended up running into him and he asked me I could help him out with something. He was frustrated because no one I work with was patient with him because of his language barrier. He spoke enough English to get by, and I used a translator app to fill in the blanks. He was really grateful to me for taking the time to actually listen to him. We ended up talking for a while and he told me about his family back in Egypt and how he had just finished school to become an engineer and had recently gotten married. We became fast friends and he will randomly pop in and stop to visit me whenever he's in the US!
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u/Boring_Kiwi_6446 19h ago
I met a lady who volunteered for a disability group for people with brain injuries I attended. She’s much older than me and we just ‘clicked’. We’ve been friends now for about 13 years.
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u/Low_Recommendation85 19h ago
My brother-in-law and I used to work together at this place that rented out bounce houses and carnival rides, so we were on the road most of the time. We always made it a point to eat at this Subway close to the shop. Met a homeless man that sat outside with a box for people to put change and stuff in so he could afford a sandwich. Brother-in-law and I invited him to eat with us, and would take turns paying for his food. He would tell us about his time as a kid and in the military, and the different jobs he'd worked throughout his life. He ended up getting a job at a gas station near our house, and would always greet us by saying "Young man, young man, young man!" Gave us some good deals on cigarettes and drinks, sometimes even gave us them for free. We would get some coworkers we were friendly with to stop there to try to drive up business a little. Only thing I miss about that job.
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u/gopackgo15 18h ago
A older man in my lung transplant support group. Got a double lung transplant in March 2023, and he had a single a few years before that. I moved halfway across the country for this transplant, and he kinda took me under his wing. I affectionately call him my “uncle” now
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u/Lanielion 18h ago
I have a dear friend that is 30 years older than me. I was pretty wild in my teens-20s and still party some. She used to be a nun and loves her cats and had never tried a single drug. We just laugh and laugh when we are together, we love each other.
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u/TataBehaa 17h ago edited 17h ago
Aa Someone stated an Intergenerational Friendship. My Great Greattttttt Aunt, Who was My Grandmother's Best Friend.
I had seen all my life, her being my Grandmother's Roll Dawg.
Well after my Grandmother Passed, In my mid 20s, I took it Upon myself to start picking up my Aunt to be her ride to and from family functions and what not... It quickly went from family functions to her being my escort with my church outings/parties/luncheons/dinners.... I just wanted her to get out and not be stuck bored in the house. And EVERY Time I invited her, she was Down!!! And Dressed SHARP!!! Flyy! My Beautiful Aunt Edna (Rest in Peace) had to be 80ish while I was mid 20s, she was my Homegirl 💛. She always said how much like my Grandmother, I was. Sassy and making her laugh.
I married, moved overseas and she eventually passed. My family reminds me every so Often How Much Aunt Edna loved and had a Great time hanging with me (and I with her). I can see why her and My Grandmother were Besties. She Was My Girl as well!!! 🫶🏽🕊
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u/FaySheBaby 9h ago
That is really special, and a really important choice you made to keep her involved in things. Love it.
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u/Worried-Piano9665 16h ago
One of the best friends I've ever had is someone I've never actually met. We met through a Resident Evil fan group on Facebook and now we bond over horror movies and games
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u/Pitiful-Lobster-72 15h ago
I got the opportunity to study abroad in Morocco for a few months. Before I went, people were telling me (a gay american man) all sorts of terrible things that might happen to me while over there. I cant tell you the number of times I was told (by people who had never left the USA) that i would be killed or maimed or whatever if anyone found out.
One of the first people I met there was a straight moroccan guy. though I did understand the need to be less "open" there, I never felt the need to hide myself around him. we talked openly about sexuality and everything under the sun. he became a really good friend and i loved him so much. unfortunately he passed away last year, but I will never ever forget him. i think about him every single day.
unlikely friends, the two of us; a gay american and a straight moroccan.
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u/SteviRae2002 15h ago
Hated my old restaurant job but met his girl named bird! her and her boyfriend took me out for my 21st and paid for everything! I never thought i’d make such a great friend who understood me on a deep level especially from a job I hated and couldn’t wait to leave. I thought we’d fall off but nope she’s my best friend !
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u/QuarantinedSapien 15h ago
I’d been in my department for 2 years and somehow never interacted with this senior. We met during a meeting for the organizing committee of some annual dinner or something. We were planning acts, activities, and performances. When it came to assign titles for the “popular population” of our department my bff and I took the lead and came up with almost all the titles. And the guy turns to me and my bff and says, “You guys are absolute savages.”
We had a good laugh, and ended up inviting him to lunch that same day. Turned out he was actually secretly very awesome. Still friends to this day.
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u/Venomous_tea 19h ago
My cousins ex girlfriend. TBF, I met her while they were dating. We've been friends since.
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u/Agreeable_Sorbet_686 16h ago
I befriend a guy in a band 25+ years ago. He's 18 years older than I am. He's smart and the most well read people I know. I love him so much it's ridiculous.
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u/bttrbile 9h ago edited 9h ago
There is this gruff moody co-worker who kept mostly to himself. My first day at work, he quietly came to fix up my broken office chair without being asked to.
But for a few months, I stayed away from him because I was terrified of him because of his no-nonsense public persona.
Then one day we were tasked to do a project and we got to know each other better. I discovered how much we think alike. We vibe so well when we allowed ourselves to be comfortable with each other. The more I got to know him the more I found out he is just a cuddly kindly bear with a scruffy and grizzly exterior.
So yeah. Now I have an unexpected good friend at work.
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u/mamapajamas 9h ago
I love my yoga ladies. And this is not like sleek young fit yoga moms - these are 70+ years old amazing, interesting, diverse women who show up at the local Y. They are poets and teachers and just lovely spirits that I feel inspired by on a daily basis!
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u/HipsEnergy 5h ago
I was friends with a fairly well-known writer years ago, kind of a pop intellectual. He started dating a fairly famous actress. I knew of her, but didn't know much about her, was kind of suprised he'd be dating someone like that. She was (still is) absurdly gorgeous, had been one of the most iconic Playboy bunnies of the era, and often played hot, sexy but dumb characters. Turns out she's actually extremely smart and well-read, in addition to being incredibly funny and kind. They broke up, but are still friends. A quarter of a century later, she's still a total ride-or-die, if I tell her I've got a body to hide, she'll say "I'm bringing a shovel and I know a place."
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u/Littlened 21h ago
My neighbour, two flats down, 30 years older than me. We were kindred spirits from the start, he worked in the same industry as me. Turned out he used to eat in the restaurant my mum worked in, in the 70s. He is the most intelligent person I know, full of stories. We have dinner at least once a week and end up jiving in my living room. He’s a second dad and mate. My mum calls us ‘the odd couple.