I think it comes as no big surprise dear reader, that when I packed up all my shit to travel the world solo and become a minimalist for the sake of...well, a quarter life crisis, finding myself, valuing experiences over materialism, yada yada enter reason here... that once I returned to American status quo, my next big move would be to work on my most prized possessions of all. Drum roll, friendships! Duh.

You thought I was gonna say my Prada right? Riiight.

I'm still pretty much a loner. Making friends as an adult is hard. Am I alone in that? Seriously, even as the founder of Femmeboss, which is the first and only matchmaking app for women to make adult holistic friendships, I still get isolated and focused on ambition (workaholicism) over social circle expansion. What a bummer. Practice what I preach. Yeah I know. So here is my last ditch effort for the year to really go balls to the wall (what does this saying mean again?? hope it applies) on making friends the old fashioned way - EFFORT. Shocker.

So while I work on actually getting out of my home office, please indulge in the most exhaustive list you'll ever find for making female friends before summer is officially up. And for my girls across the pond, dogear this for next year.

1. Be present: for some of you, this may mean putting down your mobile phone. The first and most important piece of advice we can offer is to be someone who is not only interesting, but someone who is interested in other people. Being present is the best and fastest way to create sincere connection with other people.
2. Pick up a new hobby or class: what are you intrigued by? Glass blowing, knitting, sourdough bread making… Whatever it is, sign up! Do a google search for classes in your area and enjoy learning for fun. Oh yes, and while you are there, talk to the people around you and per #1, listen to their story. This is sure to unravel other areas of interest and intrigue.
3. Join a sports team: a fun way to meet people is to share a common goal and to work at it. 
4. One of the most raw aspects of meeting people through sport is witnessing instinctual elements of their personality as they come through in the competitive nature of sport. The reserved accountant suddenly becomes super fierce on the soccer field or the sculptor also happens to be an incredible team captain If you’re worried about your athletic performance, maybe take the pressure off and join a fun league of a hybrid sport like golf frisbee or a league that competes for a charitable cause (the winner decides the recipient charity of choice). Whatever you choose, just get moving! You’ll be surprised just how much fun you will have.
5. Open mic anyone? For the poet, singer or musician on the inside, open mic sessions are great ways to visit different venues in your city and bare your soul to a group of strangers. Even if you don’t perform, witnessing the talents of another in an accessible environment provides endless conversation starting ideas, i.e. “Hey, I really enjoyed your cover of > , did you know the original artist wrote it as a commentary on >”. 
6. Volunteer: find a cause that strikes home for you and volunteer regularly. Meeting people serving alongside of you already aligns your values and the folks you serve will have great stories which you will become part of. 
7. Book club: First rule of book club? Never mention book club! We kid, we kid. First rule is actually read the book. The type of books the group reads will quickly fit you with your tribe and lead to lots of fun, insightful discussions.
8. Get certified: Whether it is in scuba diving, CPR or a post-graduate certification, this is a fun way to meet people and beef up your resumé. Contacts you meet in such classes often know of other interesting seminars or events that can lead to greater networking opportunities for work or play.
9. Become a tourist in your own city: don’t wait for friends or relatives to visit, check out a museum or attraction in your current city on your own. You may meet someone who visits your city regularly on business and is looking for a friend to dine with. 
10. Attend special interest conventions: Bonsai anyone? Develop a touch of knowledge in a foreign area. You won’t even have to think of what to say, just ask one of the vendors brimming with knowledge to tell you a bit about what they do and you will walk away 20 minutes later with a ton of interesting information. This is a fun way to suss out what you may want to pick up as a hobby à la #2. 
11. Take a cooking class: If you dream of sharpening your knife skills (pun intended)) or learning how to make gluten-free croissants, you’ll learn something about the very thing that has been bringing people together since the beginning of time - food! 
12. Go on a wine or beer tasting: This is a totally acceptable way to get day-time drunk. You’ll talk to the aficionados, learn lots that you’ll forget, nail your wine slurp and by the end of the event you’ll be making best friends with everyone within a 2 mile radius. 
13. Meet the neighbors: make some banana bread and take it over to the nice couple down the hall or the widower across the street. Spreading a lil love near where you sleep is always a good idea. 
14. Start frequenting a local coffee shop to read a book or newspaper: make friends with those who do the same and the people who work there.
15. Learn a new language: you will make friends in class or with native speakers you meet up with in your own city. As you get better, plan a trip to the country that speaks the language and make new contacts as you practice.
16. Explore a new culture: Piggyback on the language class and find out more about the culture of the country of origin.
17. Host a get together with casual acquaintances: it will force you out of your comfort zone of the usual suspects while totally being IN your physical comfort zone. Allowing people to see you - the books you read, the magazines you subscribe to and your impressive shoe closet also allows them to find common points of interaction to engage with you.
18. Eat dinner at the bar in one of your favorite restaurants: by sitting at the bar, you can have casual conversations with others on their own or waiting for friends. Plus the bartender pretty much has to be your friend, akin to the lunchroom supervisor in middle school. This will come in handy when you bring your new colleagues and friends to said restaurant and you have a good rap with the staff.
19. Pick up your niece or nephew from school: You’ll finally have lil faces to put with the names of playmates, bullies and budding love interests from all the stories you have heard. Kids also work wonders in the potential mate category. I mean, have you ever seen ‘The Parent Trap’?
20. Talk to the service people you encounter for business travel: they know lots of other
21. business travelers and may have recently spoken to someone in your field or know of a conference that is going on that could help connect you. Besides, when you’re away from home, it is nice to have some familiar faces to strike up conversation with.
22. Attend continuing education classes or join a local guild if you’re an artist: connecting with others who are in places where they are trying to build a specific community takes half the work out of networking for you. The other half still remains - push yourself out of your comfort zone while still getting to be yourself. 
23. Join a community garden: sink your hands into the soil of your community with your community. This is a cool way to create something meaningful in the place you live. This will open doors for friendships when you run into them at the grocery store or at a different type of community event. 
24. Go to restaurants with community tables: eating your lunch at a space created to spur conversation with other like minded people is a fun way to chit chat with others.
25. Tell your mom and her friends you’re willing to be set-up on dates: Let them all know and suddenly your day book will be fun of interesting nephews or sons in your ages range.
26. Grab a wing woman: even if you aren’t trying to meet someone to date, do any of the above listed things with a good, independent friend on hand and be open to including other people in your conversation. mile, have a positive vibe and flexible approach with people of different walks of life. You can do all the above but without an open heart and mind, your experience will feel mundane and dry. When you are open to possibilities, they will come.

A friend date is one powerful way of improving that special bond. There are many things to do in your city. So without further ado, here are... 

175 friend date ideas for 2016

Lastly, although these are all wonderful ways to get to know people, lest we not forget they are also incredible ways to get to know different aspects of yourself. Afterall, you will be the only comrade you have for life!