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[quote=Anonymous]If your parents had no friends when you were growing up, and especially if you were an only child, how did you learn how to build and maintain good friendships?

For me, being an only with parents who had zero friends themselves, I really floundered until middle school, when I figured it out on my own how to be a good friend and maintain friendships.  I had great friends in middle and high school, and also in college, but after that as an adult who has moved around a lot, have really had a lot of difficulty finding friends and also maintaining these relationships.  Friendships are very important to me, but I have very few friends.  I do have a few friends though, and some of these friends I've had since college, others for several years.

I feel like I have high emotional intelligence, and am empathetic, and I am really good about keeping in touch, organizing get togethers with friends, and remembering important details that friends share, but I have never been able to have as many friends as I want, and I do feel that I have a lot of difficulty making friends.  I feel like once I've made a friend I can keep the friendship going very well, but it's the making friends part that I really have difficulty with.  My efforts to make friends over the years--reaching out to others, initiating get togethers, initiating keeping in touch, doesn't seem to be working.  My husband has zero friends and doesn't want any, so that makes things more difficult too.

I never had a good "role model" for this growing up as my parents had zero friends and also I was an only child so I didn't see siblings making friends.

Any advice appreciated.  Thanks![/quote]

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