Friends are a crucial part of your life. You need them. You may not need a lot, but you do need at least one good friend that you can depend on. For a long time, I didn’t think that I needed friends. I was perfectly dependable and who better to be there for me than me, right? However, I realized that while you do need to be able to depend on yourself and be okay by yourself, you also need at least one person in your life that you can count on, talk with, complain to, share things with, do silly things and just have fun with.
Despite coming to this realization, I will admit that I am very picky with who I choose to surround myself with. I am not one of those people who can meet someone today and consider them my best friend the following day. I have to get to know someone first before I can call them my friend. I know not everyone is like that, which could be a reason why some people are hurt when the person they called their friend talks about them behind their back, turns out to be opposite of what they thought, spills all the secrets they told them and just betrays their trust.
I’m not saying you should stop talking to people, or be suspicious of everyone you come into contact with [actually… be suspicious]. What I’m saying is you should be careful who you call your friend: reserve that prestigious title for someone who is worthy of it. Find yourself a true friend: “True friends are like diamonds, they are real and rare. False friends are like leaves, they are scattered everywhere.”
Here are five reasons why you should choose your friends wisely:
- A true friend will hold your hand when times get tough
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When you’re going through a hard situation, you can depend on a true friend to help you get through it. You can depend on them to give you their shoulder to cry on, to pray for you and to hold your hand the entire way. A true friend will not leave you to endure your situation alone. They won’t avoid you because they’re not able to handle you at your worst. They will be there.
- A true friend will reassure you when you’re in doubt
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When you don’t believe in yourself and you are unable to recognize the good in anything you do, a true friend will attempt to silence those voices in your head that are making you feel like you’re not good enough. They won’t try to put you down when you’re already down or make you feel worse about yourself. They will be your rainbow after the rain. They will bleed optimism. They will bring a smile to your face, and they’ll even make you feel dumb [in a good way, like ‘I can’t believe I thought that way’ way].
- A true friend will listen and give you solid advice
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A true friend will attentively listen to you and give you the best advice they can. They will be honest with you and give you advice that won’t hurt you, but help you. Also, if they don’t know what to say, they will say just that. They won’t pretend to understand and give you advice that they’re not sure about.
- A true friend will make boring fun
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It doesn’t matter what you’re doing. You could be doing nothing, but you both are happy because you’re spending time together.
We all need friends in our lives. However, we should all choose our friends wisely. We should choose people that we can depend on to hold our hands when times get tough, that will reassure us, that will listen to us and give us advice, that will make boring fun and show up when we need them.