My friend, My friend

To all the besties that come in twos, the three amigos, and the whole gang, this one is for you!  Being a friend and having friends is one of the main things we become and strive to have in our lives.  Friends are the people we can laugh and play with, experience new adventures with, and those who knows us best. They push us to be better, share our pain, and are happy knowing that we are happy. They take care of us, love us, and shelter us like no other. And the bond created becomes something that is hard to break.

You can make friends by bonding over the most simplest things; like failing a class together, traveling the same route to work, and even following each other on social media before meeting in person.  It never really matters how the friendship starts, all that matters is that it started. 

 

I don't have friends, I have family.
As a friend, you step up to the plate when you can. As family, you sit at that table no matter if you bring something or not. One eat, we all eat. No free loading. but when you are able to, you provide for yourself and the group. We push you to go even harder. Friends are cool, but family is an eternal flame.
-jeremiah m.

Friend can be seen as another ‘F’ word for Family. If you think about it, how many family gatherings have you been too that wasn’t for your family? Do you consider your friends mom your second mom? Do you find yourself strolling into their home, unannounced, rampaging through the kitchen and hanging out like it’s your home? Those are some of the outcomes of having a strong bond with someone, that you become that close. You see them as your family and they soon become apart of it. Then the day comes when a stranger ask how you two met, and you’ll come up with a story of how you’re cousins or your dad had another child on the sly that makes you two sisters. Yes, it’s silly, but it’s our way of explaining to others just how much that friend truly means to us.

For me some of the necessary qualities to have in a friendship is someone that is trustworthy and does not cast judgement. Because if you don’t fully trust someone you can’t truly be your complete self with them, which will prevent the friendship from reaching its full potential. Lack of judgment is also important because it allows you to be transparent with both the good and bad parts of you.
-Alex

  A friend to me is someone who is loyal to a fault. someone who you can rely on in your time of need, but will also call you out when you’re in the wrong.  
-jakalah B

Our friends are the ones we can be our true self around without feeling like we have to put on a mask. They know the good and the bad when it comes to who we are and can sometimes help us navigate a way to better ourselves. They love us through the moments, even our own family couldn’t love us, because they chose to be there. They choose to deal with you at 2 in the morning when you have a panic attack, they choose to take care of you when you decide that your’e going to drink over your limit, and they choose to be there at times when there is no one else around.

Being a friend is being there for a person through the ups and the downs. Being a friend is being supportive and non judgmental. Being a friend is being genuine and real. Being a friend is being honest and trustworthy. it's Being someone a person can always count on. 
-Ghellynda J
 

A friend means we be there for one another regardless the circumstances. We can argue one day, but the next day we are both saying how sorry we are. 
-Yolanda j (mommy)

And yes, friends do fight. It is bound to happen. Whether it be a misunderstanding, or your friend beat you in 2K or took a shirt without asking. Or it can be a serious one. They’ve said something to hurt your feelings, or you wasn’t there when they needed you. In the end, we all make mistakes. But being a friend and caring for that friendship, you do what you can to repair it all. You talk through it, cry it out, or drink ‘til you both can’t remember what it was in the first place that made you so angry at the other. You try to understand where it all went wrong and apologize for it, because to you, no situation is big enough to lose that friendship.

"A friend is someone who listens, Someone who is loyal and is always there to help. Friendship is when you pull up to McDonald’s and be like “what you want? I ain’t ask you if you broke”. Most people think that friends are supposed to be “yes men” and “yes men” only. Nah my friends have to be a “yes man” and a “no bitch." tell me when I’m wrong in a situation. And a friend knows how to tell you that you’re wrong without hurting your feelings. A friend is someone that you can tell anything without having fear that it will get out. Y’all laugh and cry together. Hell sometimes you get mad at each other. But real friendships bounce back. Friendship is a beautiful and essential part of life." 
-alicia

 

So celebrate your friendships. Celebrate the people in your life. Celebrate the moment the day you all became friends. Celebrate the length of your friendship. And celebrate the fact that you have someone there for you. And in return, be a good friend yourself. I just don’t think anyone knows how much one new connection can help someone’s day, how a simple call or smile can change their outlook on life, or just how having one person to call special can make them feel whole. There is someone out there waiting and in need of your friendship, because honestly, it just might save their life.