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5 Friends You’ll Have Forever, Starting In Your 20s

In addition to family, friends should be the extremely important, beautiful gems in your life.

When you reach your 20s, you've gone through years of gaining and losing friends. People come in and out of your life for different reasons, but a select few will remain in your heart forever.

If you take a moment to think about all of your good friends, you probably met them in very different ways.

They're each unique and have something special to offer your friendship. You'd do anything for them, and they mean the whole world to you.

In honor of all of the spectacular friends out there, here are five types you'll have in your 20s and the ones you'll keep forever.

1. Childhood Friends

You've been close to these chicks since before you really knew who you were. They're the friends you met in middle school and stayed inseparable with all the way through high school.

The Type You Have In Your 20s: There may be a toxic friend you were never too close with, but you've been putting up with her because she was in your high school squad. You'll stay close with her in your 20s because you don't want to disrupt the group.

The Ones You'll Keep: The childhood friends who stay in your life for the long haul are the ones who are special and impact your life in a positive way. You've already stood the test of time and distance throughout college, and know they're worth keeping in touch with no matter where you're at in life.

2. College Pals

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Your college friends are the ones you met at a crucial time in your life. Yes, this was a time for crazy parties and late-night cramming for exams, but this was also the awkward stage when you were told you needed to know who you want to be for the rest of your life.

You had no clue and they helped you figure it out.

The Type You Have In Your 20s: You get lonely in college, so you'll latch onto people who maybe wouldn't have been your first choice. This could be a roommate who wasn't your cup of tea, but you went along with it to keep the peace.

The Ones You'll Keep: You'll keep the college friends who were there for you during your hardest moments. College can be a difficult transition, and the people who make it easier have your best interests at hand.

3. Work Wives

It can be hard to find great friends in a competitive environment.

Sometimes, you just view them as colleagues, but there is always that one person in the office who becomes your one partner in crime, aka your work wife.

The Type You Have In Your 20s: You may be friends with someone in the office because they are the only person you can relate to. It could be slim pickings, and you will never actually hang out with this person outside of work. But, you take your lunch break together and crack jokes in your cubicle.

The Ones You'll Keep: If you've broken the barrier and hung out somewhere outside of work, you've already passed a point where this friendship is special. Sure, she's your work wife, but you also want to introduce her to the rest of your friends and your world outside of the office.

4. Hobby Buddies

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Whether they're gym buddies or people you met in an improv class, these are the friends you make from bonding over a passion outside of work.

The Type You Have In Your 20s: When you get older, it becomes harder to make new friends, so finding a tribe of people who love the same thing as you is special. But, this may be your only connection.

The Ones You'll Keep: Your hobby buddies you keep forever are the ones who connect with you on a deeper level. You can hang out and not just talk about the gym or improv; you actually talk about your family or the terrible date you went on last night.

5. A Friend Of A Friend

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Let's face it, most of our friends we meet through another friend. That's what's so great about friends -- they come with an entire group of friends who can also become yours.

The Type You Have In Your 20s: You'll be friends with some of your friend's friends who you would never in a million years make plans with without your mutual friend there to mediate.

The Ones You'll Keep: The gems who stick around forever are the ones who you no longer view as your friend's friends. They're truly your friends now.

Your 20s can be a difficult time. The best tool to have handy is a great group of friends.

You don't have to have a million of them because only a few special ones stick around forever.