Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal Communications is one of the first online classes that I have taken and the first at San Juan College. I came to San Juan, hoping for a different and best way for me to learn that allowed me to work full time and train for my career while earning a degree and this college has made it possible for me to do so. Communications is a class that I genuinely enjoyed being a part of and I learn a lot about myself and other people from different parts of the world and cultures. One lesson that interested me the most is Chapter Twelve: Relationship with Friends.
Being only twenty years old I have not had many lasting friendships. In middle school, I had a best friend and when we went to high school, we had a falling out and the same thing
Our textbook defines "it as a voluntary interpersonal relationship characterized by intimacy and liking." One thing that helps set friends and family apart is you can choose who your friends are. Much like romantic relationships, certain characteristics are desired in a friend, therefore, you can pick and choose who you friends are based on these likes. These voluntary relationships are also based of the same interests, such as: hobbies, movies etc.. Friendships also require a certain amount of self-disclosure or vulnerability with another person which can be a hard thing to do, but that is what makes this type of relationship so
Communal friends are friendships that focus primarily on sharing time and activities together. These relationships do not involve a lot of pressure and are more leisurely than any others. One goal of a communal friendship is emotional support and only with it can the relationship survive. Agentic friends primarily focus on helping each other achieve practical goals. These friends help you with tasks but if you ask for emotional support they may become unavailable and are only there if it is convenient for them. Close friends are people with whom you exchange deeply personal information and emotional support, share many interests and activities, and around whom you feel comfortable and at ease, these are the ideal type of friendships and one that I have longed for. There is also a very different type of friendships called friends with benefits, who engage in sexual activity, but not with the purpose of transforming the relationship into a romantic attachment. These relationships can become very difficult or very pleasurable as long as stronger feelings do not develop in one or the other. Which is why there are rules and boundaries for every