Friendship

Throughout my high school experience, I have experienced many friend groups. I have flowed in and out of friendships, not necessarily by choice. I have learned that it takes a lot of time to find genuine and authentic friendships. It took me 12 years to find a real friend. To this day, she is still one of my best friends. I wanted to write about the importance of friendship and how it takes time to find one. What makes a friendship genuine and authentic? In my experience, my best friends are loyal and highly trustworthy. Having someone you can confide in and talk to about anything is necessary. In general, friendships in womanhood are to teach lessons and set boundaries. Throughout high school, I was stomped on and not treated so nicely by people I thought were my ‘friends’. My trust was broken many times through secrets and unnecessary drama. But I am happy that I experienced those situations because they would not have led me to some of the most inspiring people I have met, who I am so glad to call my best friends. Once I found genuine friendships without competition between one another and having a special bond, it made me realize the beauty and art girl friendships have. I feel like my four best friends get me more than any other person. They want to know who I am, and it feels so refreshing. Having a reciprocated friendship is also so important. My friendships often did not last because I was giving too much and receiving too little: the energy was not being matched. Taking a step back and looking at friendships for what they are, is like watching art. From the cliche activities like listening to music on vinyl to the not-so-cliche things like going on a hike in the woods, girlhood friendships are entirely underrated. For the longest time, I never knew what a healthy and reciprocated friendship looked like. But now, the beauty of my friendships feels like an overflowing amount of courage and comfort poured into my glass. Not once do I feel drained or as if my social battery is declining when I am with my true best friends. The message I want you to take from this is that although it may take time to find an honest, authentic friendship, in the end, that time will feel like nothing compared to the happiness you will eventually find with genuine people. Platonic love is such a wonderful thing. It is truly the purest form of love I have ever encountered: no obligations or duties, cheating or jealousy, but rather genuine admiration and support for one another. I have never felt more seen or reassured than with my best friends.