With cuddle season rapidly approaching, college students everywhere are scrambling to find another human being to help provide adequate body-heat, both for emotional companionship and to avoid splurging on the utility bill.

However, it can be a lot of pressure to find a romantic cuddle buddy on such short notice.

Fortunately, that is where the idea of “friends” comes in. It turns out, even if you don’t have a vested romantic interest in people, they can still qualify as an excellent source of companionship and body heat. Despite their lack of intimacy, platonic relationships can meet all of the cuddling essentials, and it has been found that sitting on the couch snuggled under blankets with hot chocolate, Netflix and one’s close friends is reportedly a very enjoyable activity.

So where does one begin? While many of us have pre-existing friend pools that we can draw upon for this sort of activity, this time of year can also be a great opportunity to forge new social connections.

Today we will be discussing a very useful life skill: making a friend. Though this may at first seem like a daunting task only for rich people and celebrities, it turns out friend-making can be done by just about anyone.

To start off, let’s learn a little more about friends. The dictionary defines a friend as someone “a person one knows, likes and trusts.” And though this definition does not explicitly cover this, it is also important to note that in order to qualify as a friend, the person you know and like should probably know and like you back. This “mutual feelings” part is an important aspect of any relationship.

It is also important to familiarize oneself with the many different types of relationships that can be established and qualify as a “friend.” There are three main types commonly found on a college campus such as WSU. They include:

Best Friends: This is that person who knows everything about you and still hangs out with you.  Never let them go. Even if they run. You catch them. You bring them back.

BFFs: The preteen girl equivalent of “Best Friends.” If anyone tries to establish this relationship with you and you are older than the age of 13, you’re probably better off alone.

Friends with Benefits: This is when you are friends with someone primarily because they have a lot of money or a pool.

Additionally, there are three simple steps in friendship, which include: choosing the friend, making the friend, and keeping the friend. We will start with the choosing of the friend.

The first step in making a friend is to go out in public. Make sure you shower first. Choose a nice location to begin your friend search. School is a great place to start. Begin targeting your potential platonic soul mate. Allow the target a nice amount of personal space, and while it is OK to watch them subtly, DO NOT STALK THEM. Not only is that a poor first impression, it’s also illegal.

Once you have honed in on your target, the next step is to approach them. After you have decided that they are a worthy human being for your affections, you have to find a way to start talking to them. You can use a number of approaches, but a simple one is to just walk up to them and introduce yourself. Once you have struck up conversation, keep the chatting alive by asking questions.

Good questions include: “What activities do you do for fun?” or “Do you have any pets?”

Bad questions include: “How much do you weigh?” or “What is your home address?” 

If all else fails just let them do all the talking while you smile and nod and pretend to know what is going on.

Once your have successfully navigated through an introductory conversation, it’s time to make the first move. Ask them if they would like to “hang out” sometime.

Invite them to join you in fun but casual activity such as “catching coffee.” If they say yes and/or do not run away, you can consider yourself to have successfully made a friend!  

Unfortunately, making the friend is only half the battle. Friends only count if you can actually keep them; however having friends is like having an exotic plant. You may enjoy having it, but you do have to do maintenance in order to keep it. But while all your plant needs is water and sunlight, friends need that and so much more. Some basic things friend require include your time, emotional support, and the occasional accompanying affectionate hug.

So instead of turning up the heat this winter, invest in some friends. Besides being exceptionally useful in terms of saving you money, they can also be fun to hang out with, and laugh with, and not-die-alone with.