s/o weddings--Do you have a "social circle"?

jcsumm0

I hear this tossed around on TB a lot--"in my social circle" this and that.  I don't feel like I could say "in my social circle, we all _________" because I can't point to just one "social circle." 

I mean, I have a group of mom friends I've made since having DD.  I've got a few former coworkers that I am still friends with.  I've got my mom's side of the family, my dad's side, and ILs.  I've got a group of friends from college that are scattered all over the country.  But to say that as a group we have certain customs about weddings or showers or holidays seems odd to me.

Am I the odd one out or is this "social circle" thing just something people throw around on TB?  If you have a social circle, who are these people?  How did you meet them?  How long have you know them?

klondikebar

I do not have a social circle. I have one really good friend and some annoying family members.

seahorse102410

The people I do stuff with around here are a little different from the people I grew up with.  So the culture isn't exactly the same.  People I went to college with are more similar to the people I grew up with.  I thought yes because I feel like I see the same people at most social functions but we are definitely a mix of backgrounds.

EastCoastBride

Yes, I do.  DH and I went to college together and we have a large group of friends from college.  This is our "social circle".  We don't see them as much as we once did (locale, kids), but it's who I first think of when I think about "what would my friends do?".

We have other friends outside of this group, but no other set "group". 

catycate

Now that I have a kid and stay home, I have just 1 social circle. Before, I had several different groups, but none so many that we had traditions or customs.

GrayGhost13

When it comes to traditions like weddings, I think there are distinct variations among different regions, different cultures and religions and socio-economic levels, etc. I think people say "social circle" as a catch-all for the things above.

That said, where I live, most of the people I know are originally from somewhere else, and most of our family don't live in this region anymore, so it is confusing as to what's the social norm because the "circle" is a little different for every event.

jcsumm0

EllaHella:

Social Circle = Group of friends, peers

I mean, I get that, but I guess what I don't get is social circle=the same customs about everything.  I mean, among my group of friends from college, we have very different expectations of things like weddings and family and stuff like that.  Whereas on here it seems like people's "social circles" all generally agree on things like that. 

Am I making sense?

samjodo

I don't  use the word, but for me I would consider it the group of people I see regularly for dinner, drinks, playdates etc...There is a group of maybe 10 of us that have been good friends for a while and are at similar places in life. My good friend from high school and I reconnected when I moved back to Seattle after undergrad. We have incorporated people that we have worked withand met along the way and the group has grown.

I see my family quite often, but for some reason wouldn't include them when using 'social circle', I don't know why, it just seems different.

But no, we don't really have any standards for weddings and such, except we all thought it was weird when we got invited to someone's wedding where we were supposed to sign up on a volunteer page to bring someting or help set up/take down. I think that is pretty universally tacky though.

 

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha

The "social circle" I refer to will vary based on the topic at hand.

If we're talking about wedding etiquette, for instance, then that circle will be the group of friends and family who I am close enough that I would invite to my wedding/be invited to theirs.

If we're talking about parenting, then my "social circle" will refer to my parent friends. 

Aloe0l

I used to.  Then I had kid(s).  Now, I feel like DH & I don't really "fit in" anywhere in particular, so I guess we're rebuilding our social circle.

nanabanana06

What is this "social circle" you speak of?

imeltice

IrishCoffee7:

DH has a social circle, which I have become a part of and very much enjoy. I have oddball, hodgepodge friendships I've made here and there across the years.  He went to the same school his whole life, lived in the dorms at a four year university that his brother also attended, and there's a lot of consisntency in his life that probably accounts for having such a large social circle.

I consider a social circle to be more of a network of people who mostly, at least loosely, know each other and hang out in the same circles. 

I agree with the bolded.  For instance, we have a handful of close friends and a pretty big family.  Also, though, DH and I are both pretty involved in a few organizations in our community.  I consider all of that together to be our social circle.

scoutkate

I use the term "social circle" to refer to people who were raised according to the same social customs as me.  This happens to include the vast majority of my friends and acquaintances because (with the exception of bumpie friends) almost everyone I know was born and raised here in Eastern NC.  We just do things the same way.  It's that simple.

MexiCali

I was born and raised in the same area we still live in. My close friends (a group of 7 of us which now includes husbands and kids) would be like my social circle. However; when I respond to things with my social circle I include family I am around and anybody who I would invite or would invite me to occassions like birthdays, weddings, baby showers, casual get together..etc.

Like in my social circle it is completely normal to have 2nd showers for any gender and any time period, nobody would even side-eye it at all. That is my friends and family that would be invited to said shower.

JerkStore213

I'm like you, OP. I don't have one "circle." I have lots of different groups of friends, some of them don't even know each other, so I wouldn't consider everyone to be in the same "circle."

blush64

My circle would basically be my family. I have a large family and for showers, weddings, parties those are the people who would be there. We do have our own traditions. Some people might throw the term around but some of us are talking about our circle.