Friendship over everything, seriously

Guys…platonic love is actually the best love out there, and not a single person can tell me otherwise! Anybody who knows me knows I have always lived by this, but I’m here to convert more people over to the dark side (the side where you give up chasing romantic love and start watering your friendships). I realise everyday how precious my friends are and how privileged I am to be surrounded by so much love and kindness. So here's why it’s crucial to be a little in love with your friends.

Let me start off by saying - yes, I am absolutely in love with my friends and the love I feel for them is no different to a romantic partner. They’re all my soulmates, every single one of them in their own little way. Each friend has helped me (and continues to help me) in ways I didn't know I needed and in turn I am able to give back to them; not because relationships are transactional and I feel inclined to, but because I just want to do nice things for them. As human beings, we need connections and relationships to thrive and if you disagree with me you probably need therapy, no joke. 

I’ve always put friendship on a pedestal. To me they are the epitome of all relationships, miles superior to romantic connections and even sometimes family. To me, my friends are my family, the family I got to choose. Don’t get me wrong I love my immediate family, but my friends have gotten me out of dreary situations I didn’t realise I was in, times I couldn’t ask for a helping hand but a helping hand was already stretched out to me. There were times I was so deep in my hole I couldn’t accept the help, but knowing it was there warmed me up inside. Due to several mental health issues I suffer from (which I'm sure many others do too) and being neurodivergent, I tend to find it difficult to nurture and maintain friendships. This was (and still is) a big insecurity of mine; not feeling adequate enough as a friend. Although I am aware that this is an irrational thought, the brain is a powerful organ and overthinking is my forte. When you mix these two factors together you get crippling anxiety with a side of cancelled plans every other week - a disaster of a recipe when you’re trying to keep that new friend you just met on BumbleBff. Speaking of BumbleBff - it’s a great concept but it just needs a few tweaks here and there.  

Anyways, back to the article. 

I could go on forever about how much I love my friends blah blah blah but friendships really do heal. I have countless stories about several different friends who have made my life ten times better and all they do is exist (and obviously make me laugh and hang out with me and make me food etc). I have friends I haven’t seen in years who I'm still in contact with and we both know the love is still there, powering through all the adversities life throws at us. I have friends I've never met, who still make my day by just sending me a meme that they’ve seen and I smile extra hard knowing they thought about me, even though they’re half way across the globe. I have friends who I’ve met at work who now mean the absolute world to me and make the job bearable. I have a friend who I go on flatmate dates with every month because we wanted to be intentional with our friendship (we’re about to hit 2 years since our first flatmate date)! I have a friend who proofreads my articles before I send them out! Every. Single. Week. If that isn’t love, I don't know what is. 

I sound like a broken record, I know, but you get the point. Having friends is everything, it makes the journey of life. They say to be loved is to be known, but I can love because I am known. And to my friends, my dear amazing friends, I’m grateful our paths crossed.