New Friends vs Old Friends

On Brain, Child this week I wrote about the way we treat new friends versus old friends, which relates to how we treat people very close to us (spouse, kids, other family members) versus how we treat friends in general. In other words, sometimes we’re jerks with those closest to us in ways we would NEVER be towards new friends. I tied this all to the sometimes overrated worship of “authenticity.” (It will all make more sense in the fleshed out post.)

And I found that all of these thoughts relate to a line from Great Expectations about impressing people we don’t even like–a line that I wrote down in my quote book in high school that still resonates with me.

By the way, I’d say this one sentence sums up the entire theme of Great Expectations, even though that is not the main purpose of this week’s essay at all. Just a fun opinion from one lit nerd. Also, is “meannesses” a word? According to Charles Dickens it is, so I say yes!

Hope you’ll join me at Brain, Child. New friends and old friends–all of you!

 

Great Expectations quote on how we treat friends purple background


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Nina Badzin hosts the podcast Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship. She's been writing about friendship since 2014, co-leads the writing groups at ModernWell in Minneapolis, and reviews 30+ books a year on her website.

Hi, I'm Nina

HI, I’M NINA BADZIN. I’m a writer fascinated by the dynamics of friendship, and I’ve been answering anonymous advice questions on the topic since 2014. I now also answer them on my podcast, Dear Nina! I’m a creative writing instructor at ModernWell in Minneapolis, a freelance writer and editor, and an avid reader who reviews 50 books a year. Welcome to my site! 

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Hi, I'm Nina

DEAR NINA: Conversations About Friendship is a podcast and newsletter about the ups and downs of adult friendship. I’m the host, Nina Badzin, a Minneapolis-based writer who accepted a position as a friendship advice columnist in 2014 and never stopped. DEAR NINA, the podcast, started in 2021, and has been referenced in The Wall Street JournalThe Washington PostTime Magazine, The GuardianThe Chicago TribuneThe Minneapolis Star Tribune, and elsewhere

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