COLUMBIA — While there are some social butterflies among us, many people find it hard to make friends.
With the pandemic disrupting many traditional avenues to socialize, the “friendship recession” across the country has only intensified. To push back against this, more social groups and clubs for adults are springing up across Columbia with a range of interests, but all with open arms.
Neither Michaela Hollis or Emmaleigh Cates are from Columbia, and neither planned to move to the city. The two friends met at college in Anderson, then went their separate ways. When they both came to Columbia, they realized that they wanted to make friends, but they weren’t sure how.
“It began on the grounds of (needing) friends in Columbia. We've never lived here before,” Cates said. “When Michaela was out in California, there was a similar group called For The Gals, and they just got together and did a bunch of stuff. Michaela was like, ‘I would love to have something like that here,’ so we were like, ‘Well, why don't we start one.’”
From this came For the Girls Columbia, a social group that invites women to participate in a variety of activities and outings, including group workouts, spa days, tea parties and much more. According to Hollis and Cates, the variety of events is designed to cater to a range of interests so that everyone feels welcome. It also provides an opportunity to show off the businesses that make Columbia special.
“We try to work with a ton of different businesses, new businesses in the area, people we've never worked with before, boutiques, restaurants, bars, fitness studios, salons, spas. I mean, it's all across the board,” Hollis said.
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While the vast array of events offered by For The Girls may be exactly what some need, some people might want a simple, consistent activity. Columbia Girls Who Walk offers just that.
Part of a national network of local chapters, Girls Who Walk is a weekly walking club that takes place in different parks and paths across Columbia. Holly Johnson, an administrative volunteer for the club, said the club provides a way to make more friends and get to know Columbia a bit better.
“Some folks, especially if they're new, they're like, ‘how fitness-y are these walks?’ We like to say the walks are flat. They are very casual and comfortable," Johnson said. "It is encouraging exercise, but really, it is about letting folks just to get out there and meet new people”
Johnson herself got involved with Girls Who Walk primarily for the friendship it offered. As a remote worker, she enjoys the perks of working at home, but also the drawbacks. She wanted the chance to meet new people with different backgrounds and interests. After finding the group on social media, Johnson was encouraged to take the plunge by the low barrier of entry the walking club offered.
“For me, it was a convenient way to balance having a social club that I was involved with, having a nine to five and having other life obligations," Johnson said. "It's always been a place of joy and not stress. That's probably one of the core values of the group, that it is just meant to be a very informal way to reinvigorate yourself and get out there.”
Johnson advised newcomers to come with the knowledge that everyone is there to make friends.
Cates and Hollis find that their favorite part of For The Girls is not the events themselves, but the excitement and friendship that bloom from the women who show up for them.
“After each event, Makayla (Hollis) and I are just in awe of the response of the girls and how much they show us that they've wanted something like this,” Cates said. “The fact that (the women) can take it outside of just an event we host and they can have friendships, that was literally the whole point.”
In an increasingly digital age, groups like these offer a reprieve. Johnson said that social clubs break up the limbo of virtual relationships and provide a place where relationships can really flourish.
“I really feel like groups like this are important because it is advocating for and pushing the value of in real life connection,” Girls Who Walk's Johnson said. “Sometimes there's really nothing that can compare to seeing someone's face at the end of the day and chit chatting with someone from a completely different career field or a different generation, different walks of life.”
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