When you were a kid, no doubt there was someone who would come over for dinner and you would always ask if you could sit next to them. The honor of sitting next to this person far exceeded any dinner that you could possibly be eating.
It’s a great feeling when this role switches and kids are fighting over who gets to sit next to you. Who cares if it’s kids, you’re the popular person in the room. You are the king.
As time goes on, and we become more aware of what’s weird and what’s not, we realize it’s weird to beg to sit next to the guest you have over for dinner. There’s some code of showing that you’re not that interested in this person. That you could care less whether you sat within a mile of them or not.
But everyone has that friend. The friend that you just want to sit next to. You know that you will enjoy the meal more if you sit next to them. It’s not that the conversation will be better, it’s not that there are specific reasons why it will be better, you just know that you will enjoy your time eating if you sit next to this person.
This is usually the same person that at parties doesn’t have to make the rounds to visit everyone because the rounds come to visit them. Though, that doesn’t usually stop them from doing it anyway.
It’s the person that in a room full of people is the one that stands out the most. The person you first notice. Not necessarily because of anything specific that they do, but just because something about them invites positive thoughts into your brain.
You always look forward to a party if this person is going to be there. In fact, they’re often the deciding factor as to whether this is going to be a “cool party” or a “lame party.”
This person is odd because you often can’t boil down what traits about them make them such an attractive personality, besides simply having a joyful persona. It’s almost like a crush that everyone has on this person. But it has differences in that there doesn’t have to be anything romantic involved.
It’s also an odd person because they come in all shapes and sizes. This person doesn’t even have to be extroverted, though they often are. They don’t have to be funny, they don’t have to be smart, they don’t fit into the normal boxes of categorizing.
The best word to describe them would probably boil down to something like charisma. But that seems lame and boring to what this person actually is. This person is the “sit next to them at lunch” friend.
Tell someone today that they’re a “sit next to them at lunch” friend to you. After they’re confused, feel free to use other less confusing ways of telling them.
Because, often, the most “sit next to them at lunch” kinda friends are also the friends who could use the most encouragement and care.