My sister's advice about friend groups was totally backwards

My older sister always told me as an adult you need to find your people and stick with them no matter what. She said it's like a second family and you don't just bail when things get awkward. Well I took that advice for about 2 years with a group of moms from my neighborhood in Austin. Turns out they were super cliquey and I was always the last one invited to things or left out of group texts entirely. After I finally stepped back and started making friends one on one at my book club instead, everything changed. Now I have 3 really solid friends who I can actually count on instead of 12 people who make me feel invisible. Has anyone else had to unlearn that whole "find your tribe" thing?

2 comments

2 Comments

emmasmith1d ago

Austin is weird for mom cliques honestly.

jakeperry1d ago

So is it actually the mom cliques or just that everyone's too busy pretending they have it all together to be real with each other? I've seen it happen where people join these mom groups thinking they'll make actual friends, but it turns into a weird competition about whose kid is reading first or who has the cleanest house. It's got to be exhausting trying to keep up with that stuff instead of just being able to vent about how hard parenting is. Part of me wonders if it's worse in Austin because of this whole "keep it weird" vibe that somehow makes everyone feel like they have to be extra interesting or unique. Maybe people just need to drop the act and admit that most days they're running on coffee and luck.