Friends & Fun
Throughout my life, friends have always been a major source of positivity for me; I put immense value into my friendships. What do I do with my friends? Today, I will go through many activities that I do with my friends that bring me positivity.
The first thing is going on a picnic. There’s something about the simplicity of sitting with friends on a rolled out blanket and chatting while eating homemade sandwiches that is good for the soul. One of my favorite picnic spots is Grand View Drive in Peoria Heights. My friends and I can always chat for hours, and having a picnic offers a free and fun way to spend time together.
Another activity that I love doing is going out for ice cream. I am always in the mood for ice cream. Growing up, my friends and I would change the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s song from “we are never, ever, ever getting back together,” to “it’s never, ever, ever to cold for ice cream.” This would be our jingle anytime we tried to convince our parents to take us to ice cream (even though it was below freezing outside). My favorite ice cream places in town are Emack & Bolio’s, Emos, Theos, Dairy Queen, and Culvers.
On the same theme of sweets, my friends and I love to bake. If there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I have a massive sweet tooth. There have been countless occasions where I get together with friends and we make cookies, brownies, puppy chow, cakes, or something in between. From getting inspiration from Pinterest to attempting our own creations, baking is always an exciting (and delicious!!) way to spend time with friends.
Though I know this couldn’t sound more Gen Z, one of my favorite things to do with friends is binge a TV show. Whether it’s reality TV like The Bachelor franchise, where my girlfriends and I watch each episode weekly and then discuss the episode in depth the next day, or a Netflix original, like Stranger Things, where my friends and I sit and watch hours of episodes in one sitting, watching TV shows that everyone enjoys can bring people together in so many ways. I’ve even bonded with complete strangers over our guilty pleasure of reality TV.
Currently, it is early October, my favorite month of the year. While this year I haven’t had much time to do my favorite fall activities because of the looming presence of college applications due November 1st, most years, my friends and I spend our autumn days going apple picking at Tanners, watching Twitches (my favorite Disney Halloween movie)
Friends & I at an infamous ice cream run to Emack & Bolio's.
Though our picnics are not as aesthetic as this, they're still fun nonetheless!
and countless horror movies, prepping the perfect costumes for Halloween, going on hikes in forests painted yellow from the color changing trees, and roasting marshmallows over bonfires.
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And, to save the best for last, my favorite activity to do with my friends is to have a dance party. My friends and I have countless playlists we use with upbeat songs that we know all the words to. From throwbacks, like TLC’s “No Scrubs” to 2019 chart toppers like Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts,” my friends and I love to dance. Normally, these dance parties take place in the kitchen, while we wait for whatever’s in the oven to finish baking (see paragraph four). But no matter the location and no matter the song, we love going crazy and dancing.
Good friends are, in my opinion, one of the most important things to have. My friends bring me so much laughter and happiness, while also supporting me through big decisions and comforting me through rough times. I’ve found a lot of positivity through forming tight-knit friendships, because good friends often help you see multiple sides to one situation, allowing you to see the positive.
I love to pick apples in the fall!
