Everything I Know About Love

Alderton’s early conceptualization of her female friendships places in the center their relationships with boys. She remarks that she and Farly, her best friend, have total opposite tastes in men, and “This is why our friendship will last forever” (2). Initially, Alderton’s exploration of her bonds with other girls her age is primarily focused on her frustration with not being taken seriously and her early desire to become an adult faster. She hosts dinner parties for her friends, “inflicting” upon them her mother’s sophisticated recipes, and she often shares with them, especially Farly, alcohol taken from her parents’ liquor cabinet while they are home alone watching television. As they grow up and support one another through heartaches, humiliations, and other strife, Alderton writes that “we had transitioned. We had chosen each other. We were family” (88). At some point in their relationships, the girls actively chose one another, making a commitment to each other that over time (and yet it feels as though it took no time at all) becomes iron clad. Through their university years, Alderton’s circle of friends lives together and visits those who live apart, and the group maintains its close bonds through late-night adventures and partying at clubs.