Sure, when two (single) people meet and ‘hit it off’, the whole ‘are we going to hook up’ thing happens almost every time. If you can get past that without ruining your relationship with sex, platonic opposite-sex friendships are the best. If you manage to get past the awkward phase,  opposite-sex friends will be in your life much longer than any other opposite-sex relationships you may have had. I’m lucky to have had one great male friend in each developmental period of my life. Drew Penn was my bff in highschool, in college Eric Winter-Tamkin was my neighbor and best friend, in grad school I got Nate Romine at Purdue and Brad Fawver at UF to hang out with me. Each of them, I’m incredibly grateful for. Guys are so easy, drama free, and they are fun. They watch out for you in bars, they reach for things too high for your short a*s, they give you logical advice, are always calm, and are always trying to solve problems. Chillin’ with my guy friends is one of my favorite things. Yes, the ‘friend-zone’ is real. And its pretty awesome.

 

At the same time I have to say one thing to the ladies out there, don’t use the “Ugh, I hate girls, I can’t be friends with them” excuse. Its BS. Trust me, I’ve had my fair share of shitty encounters with women, but we have to get over it. Its driven by silly instinctive emotions that sentient humans should know how to ignore. If more women reached out a friendly hand to other women, none of us would feel that way. Get over it and be nice to each other.

 

Disclaimer: totally speaking from my experience as a heterosexual female.