I’ve spent the vast majority of my life with a close group of girl friends always by my side. Yet there was a period where my main group of best friends -my trusted liaisons, my drinking buddies, my video game partners, and my board game rivals – were all predominately males. Maybe it’s uncommon for most females in their twenties to have mainly best guy friends, but I’ve managed to experience what it’s like to be one of the boys. Or in more relatable terms, a “bro”.
When you are a tiny girl in a group of rowdy guys, people question why you’re hanging out with the boys. After the drama, talking behind each other’s backs, and other superficial issues that, let’s face it, every girl has experienced, spending my time with my guy friends was a nice break from all of that. Yet it did take some adjusting.
Being a “bro” requires energy. If you want to hang with the “bros”, you have to be able to keep up with their testosterone-filled bodies. This involves things like skateboarding to parties together, going to grungy bars that play loud rock music and have mosh pits, learning to chug beer when you’re partnered in drinking games (that one’s still a work in progress) and the list goes on.
Being a “bro” means becoming less sensitive to everything. I’ll be the first one to admit it; I am a very sensitive person who is probably not the best at taking criticism. I definitely overthink situations and start to overanalyze jokes. Yet the guys don’t give backhanded compliments or purposely try to hurt my feelings – they really just want to make a joke with me like they would with one of their “bros”. And that’s totally fair because it’s treating me like an actual friend, as opposed to someone who they have to act differently around just because of my gender.
Being a “bro” involves learning about girls from their perspective. Guys have their “guy talk” like girls have their “girl talk. Maybe it’s totally different when I’m not around, but it’s nice to have male friends who can share their honest opinions and insights on what they like and dislike in women. And sometimes it’s just convenient to receive dating advice from an actual guy.
Being a “bro” means acting ridiculous in public and not caring about it. Whether it be yelling about memes to each other in crowded venues (which I still don’t fully understand), to pretending to do beginner level parkour, to laughing loudly on the bus to the point where everyone is staring at you, guys don’t care and just do what they want for fun. My guy friends go-with-the-flow and I find their carefree spirits super uplifting.
Ultimately, being a “bro” involves living in the moment and enjoying what I am doing, while I am doing it. I can express my adventurous, nerdy, loud, comical, and occasionally gross side, and it is a totally freeing experience. As much I love being “one of the girls” and cherish my friendships with women, I absolutely love being “bro”.