The Importance of Friends

“You can’t pick your family, but you can pick your friends”

This is a very true saying. Although I do have an amazing family and wouldn’t change them for the world, there are many times where my friends become my support system I can jump into. Friends come and go, and that has become a very real reality for me, especially recently.

I have realized that how you acquire and keep friends in your life depends on your age, to an extent. Generally when you are little your friends are the people who your parents hung out with, they are the ones who were nice enough to share their snack with you, or the kid whose desk was next to yours. Maybe you liked the same sparkly sticker or were on the same soccer team. As you get older, you become more particular about whom you call friends. You become more likely to hang out with someone because they have the same interests, run in the same social circle, or because you want the same outcome from a situation. Your ties generally become deeper than desk buddies, they become more emotional and more time consuming.

I have also begun to realize that as you grow older, your friends become a much bigger part of your life. They become more than the person whose house you go to for play dates, more than sandbox and lunch time buddies, a person whose birthday party you attend. They become the people you call crying after your parent’s divorce or marriage, the people who will bring you chocolate after a break up, the people who will literally pick you up on the side of the road when your car breaks down. They are also the people who order a cake when you get a job, buy you a drink to celebrate your 21^st birthday, and let you be giddy when you fall in love.

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Now I don’t know who came up with that and thought it was true, but I don’t agree. They obviously never moved half way across the world leaving behind the life they knew for 27 months. Then again, maybe they are the sane ones, because hearing that I sound insane to have ever thought that was an exciting idea.

The great thing about friends is that those who are truly your friends will be there for you, even across the world. The other great thing about friends- is that you can make them anywhere. I have gathered friends throughout my life and have met some of my best friends in different circumstances. Some have come and gone, people that I thought would be my best friends now left, other people I never would have expected to be my friends are now my greatest confidantes.

That’s the crazy thing about life that bleeds into friendship- you never know what is going to happen. My life has been an unexpected journey full of twists and turns, bumps and highs. It’s been a roller coaster full of ups and downs. My family and friends have been there for me through them all. I have always taken for granted what God has given me in my life. I have always known I’m blessed, but being here on this adventure has shown me just how blessed I have been, especially with the people that surround me.

Recently (well in the past year), I have really seen who has stuck with me in my triumphs and struggles. My friends back home who send me letters, messages, and pictures remind me that I am still loved, no matter how far away I am. My friends here who let me randomly text them, call them, and send me sweet and random pick me ups remind me that I am not alone in this crazy thing, even though I am “alone” at site.

My friend circle has grown as I have grown up. So has the diversity of my friends. If I were to get married tomorrow (don’t worry, that’s not even a thought in my head right now), I have my bridesmaids picked out. I have the people I would invite to watch me tie the knot. I have those people who are important in my life. And what’s so interesting is that they are never the people I would have expected to be there if you had asked me that even a few months ago.

Circumstances change people, both for the good and bad. I think circumstances also change how people interact with each other. My best friends over here are never people I would have talked to or even probably met in the States, but because of our circumstances they have become my greatest support system when I am so far away from my normal supporters.

Friends are those people that are there for you through everything, and I don’t think I ever truly realized that until they are the only ones that are close enough for you to truly rely on. Don’t get me wrong, my family is still the most important thing to me, but they are half a world away, and sometimes I just need a hug or a pick me up. My friends at home are helpful in a completely different way, when I need to escape from my world here and just delve into a nerdy conversation about life back home.

All this is to say, thank you to everyone I am privileged enough to call my friend. I can’t begin to shout out everyone that I consider friends, because there are too many. I just want you to know that I am lucky to be called your friend, and I hope you feel the same. My friends are those who pick me up when I’m down, help me when I have trouble remembering how to walk, they have helped me smile and laugh when I’m crying, they have supported me through my good and bad times, and they have helped me remember how loved I am, all around the world all the time.