Throughout my life, I’ve had countless female friendships. Whether they have been my best friend or just someone to talk to in math class, I fully believe that each of those friendships has had some sort of impact on me.
Growing up, it was playing princesses together and dressing up our Barbies during playdates that we knew we would hide from our parents at the end of (as if we wouldn’t still have to go home). In elementary school, it was texting each other to make sure we would wear dresses on the same day of school that week. In middle school, it was freaking out together because the boys we liked (but never actually spoke to in person) wanted us to wear their football jerseys that Friday. In high school, it was experiencing those moments with each other where we were convinced that we were basically independent adults, like when we went to our first party, when we got our first real boyfriends, or when we applied to colleges.
I’ve been realizing recently truly how important all of these female relationships have been to me and my life. It’s a different kind of bond to be able to choose your sisters. I have been able to get through the hardest situations I will probably ever go through because I had at least one of my close female friends there to help me through it. They have given me more love and shown me more support than any boy ever has, and this is just me saying thank you.
Since coming to college, I think the significance of my girlfriends has especially been put under the spotlight. I am so incredibly thankful to say that I met one of my best friends my first year when I got randomly assigned to be her roommate three days before we moved in, and I am still living with her now, along with my very first friend at Cal Poly from SLO days and one of my next friends from WOW. I cannot express how healing it is living with three of your best friends. It is a completely different journey than living with family, as you are now growing and changing and experiencing life on your own. To be able to come home crying knowing there will be someone there to hug me, to know I have someone who will brave Planet Fitness with me after class, to never not have someone who wants to binge a Hulu series with me, is something I have taken for granted.
There is something so beautiful about this powerful, intimate kind of love. I saw a sentiment somewhere online talking about how your female friendships will give more than anyone, that they are there to fix a heart that they didn’t break- and now that I’ve lived that, I see who I owe it to.
I want to give some specific thank-yous that tie in with lessons I’ve learned from each of my closest girlfriends.
Thank you Peyton for always saying yes to whatever spontaneous plans are presented, for staying up until 2 am on a weeknight with me because I don’t want to do homework alone, and for constantly forcing me to film TikToks with you (I like doing them more than I let on). Thank you Olivia for letting me know I’m not alone in my thoughts, for still trusting me no matter how many times I prank you, and for entertaining my middle-school-boy sense of humor. Thank you Camryn for being my partner in literally everything (especially protecting me from the Carhartt depop-reseller men at the Goodwill bins), for the great music and clothing inspiration, and for showing me what a platonic soulmate looks like. Thank you Angie for inspiring me to go outside more, for making me laugh about things that really aren’t that funny, and for unknowingly getting me out of my shell. And thank you Brynn, for helping me through the darkest time in my life, for making the most awkward situations the funniest, and for always being the easiest person to talk to.
I’m incredibly grateful for each and every one of my female friends, including those who may not be mentioned here. Their love and support have shaped me in ways I can’t fully express. This National Women’s History Month, let’s take a moment to appreciate the powerful bonds of female friendship and the strength they bring to our lives.