College is a time in someone’s life where they will go through a lot of changes. Some people breeze through college. They are able to adjust well, make good friends, get good grades and have a social life without sacrificing their education. But not everyone experiences that. There are still many who go through difficult times. Having a set of close friends can greatly help someone going through a difficult time in college. Here are tips on how you can be a good college friend.

1. Be a good listener

The first thing you can do to help a friend that is going through something is to listen to them. There are times when people already know what they’re supposed to do to get out of a bad situation they are in. What they need is someone who will be able to sit down and listen to them without passing any judgment. Be that kind of person. If your friend opens up to you, don’t point out the mistakes they did, or compare your situation with theirs because everyone deals with problems differently. Just listen so that they can air out their grievances.

2. Plan an out of town trip

A good way of clearing your mind is taking yourself out of a problematic situation first. This is not running away from your problem or difficulty, but people also need some rest or relaxation. If you see that your friend needs a distraction from their problems, take them to an out of town trip where they can enjoy some much-needed rest. If that is not possible, just a night out in town may do wonders and get them stressed free for the night.

3. Keep your promises

You want to show your friend that you are loyal and that you can be trusted. Make sure that they can always trust you by keeping your promises that you make to them. This can be as simple as not cancelling your meet up with them or giving them something that you borrowed before. Or if you promised to keep a secret for them, make sure that you do so unless the secret is harmful to them and you may need to convince them to share it with others in order to keep them safe.

4. Offer a helping hand 

If your friend has a specific problem, why not offer and ask them what you can do to help them? Being able to help a friend is not just about grand gestures, offering them a ride when they need to be somewhere can be appreciated. Talk with them so that they know you are always there for support.

5. Get the professional help if needed

College can be stressful for students, and there are times when they would turn to harmful things in order to cope. If you have a friend who is experiencing that, if they have turned to drugs or have become addicted to alcohol, make them realize that they need help and offer ways where they can get the help they need.