Birds of the Feather Flock Together

“Birds of the feather flock together” is a phrase my mother has repeated to me since I was a child. I used to hate her for this phrase. I used to accuse her of being judgmental and mean-spirited for judging my friends by the company that they kept. But now…well…now the story is a little bit different. As I have grown up on my own – outside of the house and outside of my mother’s phrases – I have begun to realize just how right she was.

More often than not these days, I find myself repeating that phrase. It’s not that I assume that a person is just like their negative friends, but I do wonder: why surround yourself with negativity? So many times, I hear people justifying their own friends. They’ll explain that their friend is ‘obnoxious’ or ‘self-centered’. Sure, we all have our negative qualities, but when a person’s negative qualities stand out against everything else…why would you want to be around that person?

Maybe I’m just biased because I have the best friends in the world. I throw parties often and I always pride myself in the fact that all of my circles of friends mingle together flawlessly each time. My friends always leave my parties raving about how awesome the people they met at my party are. I guess since I’m in NYC now, I can be picky. There are enough people in NYC to allow for me to have well-balanced, good-hearted friends across the board.

They talk about more than just themselves. They always have a shoulder on which anyone can lean. They are creative, intelligent, and articulate. They are self-confident and most importantly: they are positive. There’s nothing worse than negativity, if you ask me. Not to sound like a total hippie, but negativity brings me down and I’d much rather be friends with optimistic people who can be grateful for what they have. Nothing drives me more insane than listening to someone complain for hours on end. Who DOES want to hear that?

So what is everyone else’s deal? Do they really want to listen to someone bicker all of the time? Do they really want to be friends with guys who cause fights and disrespect girls at bars? Who are these people who befriend all of the liars and cheaters out there?

I hate to say it, but if I meet a cool girl and go out for drinks with her just to find out that all of her girlfriends are materialistic bitches, I’m going to deeply consider not hanging out with her again. Is that so terrible? My time is precious to me and I don’t need anyone messing up my outlook.

Of course it’s possible that some people just don’t see their friends’ true colors. They simply don’t realize that the ‘birds’ they’re flying with…SUCK. But what about the people who know their friends are…offensive? What do you think?

[Photo courtesy of www.benac.com]