Friends

It’s really quite amazing how important true friends can be.  There are things in life that happen that just make you question why things happen the way that they do.  I think back to a time in high school when I had a car accident and the lady that was involved wound up passing away.  I never forget her name, but I wanted to forget the event.  It was a good friend who told me that I shouldn’t forget the event, instead I should celebrate the lessons learned from the event, pray that she’s taken care of, pray for her friends and family, and be thankful that I was safe.  There was another lady involved who had a son in the front passenger seat.  If she had run that red light a second later I would have missed her and she would have hit the son’s side of the other lady’s vehicle.  Friends bring things into perspective and can twist things so that even some of the worst events have a silver lining.

That accident was sixteen years ago.  I still think about that moment and I can remember the events as clear as day.  I think back to my mental state during all of that and if it wasn’t for friends I am not sure I could have gotten through that.  My parents were great, but my friends were the ones who were honest enough to really talk me down off the mental ledge.

As I continue to meet new people and gain more friends, it’s only natural that a few fall by the wayside.  Yes they’re losses, but maybe those people came into my life for a certain reason and now that the reason was fulfilled it’s time for them to affect someone else’s life.  All I know is that I continue to strive to be a good friend as my friends were to me when I needed them throughout my life.

So my philosophy is this: to be a good friend I have to be open-minded, non-judgmental, objective, subjective, protective, be able to have a good time, vulnerable, accepting, vocal, and able to be there when needed.  Based on my experiences thus far those are qualities my friends have shown me.  It’s my hope that I can live up to the bar that they have set so very high.

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