This question always makes me laugh because the definition keeps changing depending on who you ask. By the time I'm done listing people, I've usually talked myself into believing I have way more close friends than I actually do. The truth is probably somewhere between zero and the number I tell myself on good days.

Honestly? Like two, maybe three if I'm being generous. And I'm okay with that. Quality over quantity, you know? I'd rather have people I can call at 2 AM without worrying about bothering them than a hundred Instagram followers who don't actually know me.

Depends on the day, honestly. Some days I feel connected to like five people. Other days I'm convinced I'm fundamentally alone and everyone's just tolerating me. I think a lot of us are secretly unsure about where we stand with people, so we either inflate the number or deflate it based on our mood.

I have seven people I'd consider close friends, but that number's taken me like fifteen years to build intentionally. People underestimate how much work real friendship takes - it's not passive. You've gotta show up, stay curious about people's lives, and actually be vulnerable sometimes. Most people aren't willing to do that anymore, so yeah, close friends are rare.

I'd say I have one close friend and maybe a handful of people I'm moving toward that with. And that feels like enough. Our culture makes us think we need this huge tribe, but I've found that investing deeply in one or two relationships is way more fulfilling than maintaining shallow connections with a bunch of people.