The friends we need
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They may challenge us, confuse us, and sometimes make us feel we’d be better off without them but our friends are as important to our wellbeing as eating the right foods and exercising!
The great thing about friends is that there are no rules on the amount of friends we can have or the way we interact with them. Obviously friendships can get complicated sometimes and don’t always run smoothly, but the beauty is that they are relationships that are constantly evolving. For example, in this age of Facebook, the word “friend” has changed from when I was growing up. Then, we’d never refer to someone we’d just encountered as a “friend” but nowadays many of us have “friends” we’ve never actually met. In a way though this redefinition of the word friend has highlighted a fact about friendship that has always been true- they are always changing!
At different points in our lives we bring people in and it’s from learning from these people that we put together the basic components of all our future relationships - we learn how to interact with people and understand the process of meeting new acquaintances and finding out what makes them tick. They help push us out of our comfort zones whilst providing a safe emotional space for us to be totally ourselves.
We all need the ‘Best Friend’ relationship, the one with the person who knows you inside out, but not all of our relationships have to meet this standard. It doesn’t mean they are not friendships, it just means that different people in our lives speak to different aspects of ourselves. Each relationship is unique with it’s own character and has very different profiles. Here are just five of the different ‘friend’ relationships .
1. The Best Friend - The one person who you know will always be there for you. You’ve gone through so many experiences together and know all of each other’s secrets so that you feel as close as family. You go through the bad as well as the good together, but it’s all worth it because these experiences just make your relationship stronger.
2. The Confident - This is the person that you go to when you have a lot on your mind and you need someone to listen. They lend an open ear without passing judgement or feeling the need to interject, and leave their own opinions aside when all you need is to pour your heart and soul out.
3. The Joker - Funny and witty this person will have us laughing until we cry. When we’re a bit down, they can make us feel better and we always feel happier when we’ve seen them! They are generally full of energy and we can laugh with for hours on subjects that only the two of us understand.
4. The Intellectual - Intellectual friends are inspiring, smart and challenge us to do better every day. They encourage us to be more successful and can help us through any problem, be it educational, professional or personal. They assist in building up our confidence and by looking at their achievements and success, we aspire to become like them.
5. The Artist - Whether it’s choosing a classical music CD or going to an exhibition, this friend is the keeps you up-to-date on all things cultural. They also see the world through different eyes so will push you out of your comfort zone and encourage you to explore your creativity.
Whatever point we’re in in our life, our friendships are important. They are the people who trust us, like us, understand us, and strengthen us, even when we can’t do any of those things for ourselves.