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Alexandra Friedman
Friendship and Connection Coach
Alexandra Friedman is a Friendship & Connection Coach, Community Builder, and Founder of Connection Feast, a social wellness company dedicated to helping people cultivate deeper, more meaningful relationships. Since launching Connection Feast in 2018, she has guided 2,000+ people through transformative social experiences, teaching them how to skip the small talk, get real, and develop the social skills that spark genuine connection. With a background in community-building, content strategy, and experience design, Alexandra has worked with major brands like Airbnb and AWS to create programs that foster engagement and belonging. Through workshops, intensives, collaborations, and coaching, she empowers adults to create the relationships and communities that make life truly fulfilling. She received a BS in Communications, Advertising, and Creative Writing from the University of Miami.
Education
- BS, Communication, University of Miami
Professional Achievements
- Featured in the Seattle Times, the Seattle Met, Refinery29, and countless podcasts
- Helped bring Airbnb Experiences to market and built her early career at The Daily Show and New York Magazine
Certifications & Organizations
- Certified Coach
Favorite Piece of Advice
People wait for life to happen instead of initiating the life they want, and that choice shapes everything. When you meet people, initiate with the ones who respond and match your effort, because those relationships grow strongest. Shift your focus from who did not respond to who is showing up.
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Forum Comments (2)
I Don't Like My Friend's Dating Life
First off, you're obviously a really caring friend. You care about the well-being of your friend. And I think that's beautiful. But, at some point, you need to know what you actually are in control of and what you're not. And this is a really great lesson, because ultimately, this isn't your relationship. Everybody has their own timing for how they learn these lessons. So, here's what I'd say. As a great friend, you can maybe vocalize some concerns you have, but you can also tell your friend, I'm not going to bring it up anymore once you've carefully laid out your initial concerns. But also, if you're hearing about it a lot and talking about the relationship is becoming the main aspect of your friendship, then you could maybe communicate that you're looking for more in the friendship than just talking about their relationship. However, if your friend is not really bringing it up and it's not impacting the dynamic between the two of you, you should likely stay out of it.
Should I leave/dump my friends?
First off, I want you to know that you are miles ahead in your emotional awareness, and
your future self will thank you for writing this. What you're experiencing is a form of bullying, and it sounds like those people are 100% not the right friends for you right now.
Anybody who belittles you and doesn't build you up is not necessarily a friend. I think you should look at the other people in your class, look at the other people at your school, or even outside of your school, who help you, build you up, or make you feel good.
Now, I don't think you need to do a formal "dumping" of your friends. It's super natural to want to fit in at your high school or whatever setting you're in, and your body is
responding right now in a "healthy" way by wanting to be included in groups – you don't want to feel left out! However, you have the opportunity now to surround yourself with people who lift you up. What I recommend is to just stop interacting with them as much anymore. Instead, invest in friendships, either with this one loyal person or by starting to build friendships with people that you have curiosity about. It's natural to want to be part of these friend groups. You are safe. You're going to be okay, I promise you. Once you tell yourself that, once you start investing more in the people who do help lift you up, you're going to notice that you have a lot more opportunity there and growth and support for years to come. I promise you that.
your future self will thank you for writing this. What you're experiencing is a form of bullying, and it sounds like those people are 100% not the right friends for you right now.
Anybody who belittles you and doesn't build you up is not necessarily a friend. I think you should look at the other people in your class, look at the other people at your school, or even outside of your school, who help you, build you up, or make you feel good.
Now, I don't think you need to do a formal "dumping" of your friends. It's super natural to want to fit in at your high school or whatever setting you're in, and your body is
responding right now in a "healthy" way by wanting to be included in groups – you don't want to feel left out! However, you have the opportunity now to surround yourself with people who lift you up. What I recommend is to just stop interacting with them as much anymore. Instead, invest in friendships, either with this one loyal person or by starting to build friendships with people that you have curiosity about. It's natural to want to be part of these friend groups. You are safe. You're going to be okay, I promise you. Once you tell yourself that, once you start investing more in the people who do help lift you up, you're going to notice that you have a lot more opportunity there and growth and support for years to come. I promise you that.
