THE IMPORTANCE OF FRIENDSHIP

“To have good friends, you have to be a good friend.” That is something I have tried to live by throughout my whole life. Finding good, real friends is definitely challenging, especially when you reach college. I am lucky to have had the same group of friends since elementary school and for that I am forever grateful. That doesn’t mean, however, that I haven’t gone through my fair share of bad friends and friends that walked all over me, because I definitely have. It is only in those times that you realize what it means to have real friends and how truly important they are in your life.

There is no better feeling than having a group of people or maybe even just one friend that really gets you. That you can be your complete self around and that will be on your team no matter what the situation is. What I learned, though, is that the only way to have good friends that respect you and are there for you is to do the same for them. Sometimes it’s hard to not be selfish or not only think about yourself. We all go through it, I know. The one thing that always snaps me out of situations like those is realizing that I wouldn’t be the person I am today without my friends and I hope I have made somewhat of an impact on them as well. I’ve gone through most of my life with the same friends and that doesn’t mean there weren’t times where things weren’t always the same, but that’s friendship isn’t it?

College friends are an entirely different situation and one I definitely didn’t understand until having to experience it. Making friends is hard, plain and simple. Finding friends in your 20s when you have come from different places and different lives is challenging, but once you find those core friends, it’s like you have known them forever. They are with you during the most life changing experiences and everyone is in the exact same boat: on their own and figuring it out one day at a time.

If you’re lucky, you can find the special friends in college while still keeping your friends from grade school. The most important thing I have learned is that even if you don’t keep friends from every aspect of your life, if you find just one friend or group of friends that understand and get you for who you really are, then you have won. Friendship is so important and something not everyone takes seriously. My friends have influenced my life in ways I can never explain and never thank them enough for. Always remember to be a good friend, because you never know what your friendship will mean to someone. Oh and of course, always be kind.

XOXO,

Simply Complicated