Haven't read the replies yet. But here's mine. Friendships, just like romantic relationships, take work and open communication and respect. Sometimes, that work is working on ourselves so that we are able and open to give and receive friendship (just an example would be working on one's self esteem and social fears - challenging them). But we also have to show up consistently for friendship. Whether that's just continuing to go to the cooking class we signed up for (putting ourselves out there), or actually actively nurturing the friendships we have already. This means checking in once a week maybe, or biweekly, by text, and setting up times to meet. There's a fine line too, when a friend gets busy. Or we get busy. They may not have as much time for us. Or we them. I think this is where respect for the other person comes in as well as a strong self esteem.