The Importance of Single-Service Friends

Single service friends: we all have them. Whether you realize it or not, everyone has experienced this. Throughout life, there are people who come and go out of your life. Rather than dwelling on the fact they are gone, it is essential to understand they were not meant to stay in your life. Single service friends are friends whose friendships are meant to fulfill purposes in one another’s lives. This friendship is no longer necessary once the purpose is fulfilled. 

Image via Henry Middle School – Leander ISD

A single service friend is not a ‘single-serving friend’ which is someone you met once and never see again. Someone you meant on the bus or subway and engaged in small talk is an example. Single service friends are people who are in your lives for a little longer than that.  

These friends could be the ones you’ve met at camp, in your class, or through work. You met them through special circumstances and you provide one another with the company and support you needed at the time. For example, the friends you make at work are more than likely single service friends. When you are at work, your friendship thrives but the moment you stop working there or call off, the friendship does not last. This is because you were able to help one another at the time, but not in the future. However, this is not to say a lasting friendship could not come from a friendship formed in these situations. 

Image via mirror.co.uk

Single service friends may fill the gaps in your life that your long term friends are not providing. They could also introduce you to new ideas and opportunities. These friends could possibly change the direction of your life even if they may not be in it to see it in fruition. In addition, they could also help you discover what you would want from other friendships.  Friendships are hard to manage, but with temporary friendships like this, it takes all the difficult steps out of the equation. In a sense, you are strangers with friendship benefits. 

Society seems to tell us in life we need to make friends, and if we lose them then there is something wrong with us which is not true. Different friendships help you grow as an individual just like other relationships in your life. With this said, there are people who are not meant to be in one another’s life. Not every relationship in life is meant to be long-lasting. 

Image via amNY

In conclusion, single service friends are necessary for life and you should not blame yourself when those friendships do not last. You are constantly growing and a major factor in this growth are the relationships you acquire along the way. Temporary friendships help strengthen the lasting relationships you do have in your life. Once single service friends do leave your life, it is important to be grateful for the time you have spent with them and what you learned within yourself. Even though they are not in your life anymore, they will be thinking of you just like you will be thinking of them.   

• friendships