Happy Galentine’s!
Galentine’s Day is exactly what it sounds, it’s “ladies celebrating ladies”, as said by Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler, in Parks and Recreation, who created the concept. It is the day to show your friends how much you appreciate them. It’s about spending time with the people that can always cheer you up, even on your bad days. Friends come before boyfriends/girlfriends, so the day before Valentine’s Day, spend time with your friends and let them know how much they mean to you.
We often take friendship for granted. It’s so obvious that we couldn’t live without our friends and they would definitely be my first choice of what to take to a desert island. We tell our friends things before anyone else and, there’s always someone up for a chat about nothing, or about something important but, they really don’t get the recognition they deserve.
Now, more than ever, we need our friends. They are the much-needed constant in our lives. We can’t go a day without speaking to them – it just wouldn’t be right. Sharing the insignificant parts of your day like what you had for tea, where you’re up to in Gilmore Girls or how you went somewhere different on your daily walk because, variety is the spice of life, is important. When you can’t see them every day, hearing about what they did, no matter how insignificant, really does make the distance between you all, feel much smaller.
What we do for our friends and what they do for us in return can go unnoticed. Supporting your friends isn’t just through the hardships (although that’s important too). It can also be the smaller, everyday things that may seem insignificant, that often slip under the radar.
The hyping up:
“You’re going to smash that presentation.”
“You should definitely keep that dress, you look incredible.”
That extra confidence boost before a big exam, a job interview or a presentation works wonders coming from a trusted friend.
The backing up:
“You’re not being stupid or overreacting.”
There’s a false perception that all-girl friendship groups are just gossip, drama and fights. All friendships have their ups and downs, but this doesn’t mean that they’re not one of the most important things in the world. The asking if they’re okay and listening to the answer beyond the ‘yes, thank you, how about you?’ shows how much you’re there for them.
The cracking up:
“Hey, watch this video I found really funny.”
“The most embarrassing thing just happened to me.”
We need to take a break from our lives sometimes and friendship provides an escape from all the deadlines and worries of university life. Having a laugh with your friends as well as enjoying the silences is so important. Trying new things, no matter how stupid you feel doing it, is also definitely underappreciated.
Galentine’s Day is the day to show how much you appreciate your friends. It’s the day to have a girls’ night in, for the lack of a girls’ night out. Galentine’s Day celebrates friendship – specifically female friendship but, Palentine’s Day is its more inclusive counterpart. The confidence boosts, the checking they’re okay, the constant laughs all are worth celebrating. Through the many lockdowns, the pandemic and all the other months or years that you’ve known your friends, it’s time to celebrate all the big and small things that you do for each other.
So, to end, I thought I would share some of my favourite memories with my friends that I really appreciate and will be celebrating with them.
- Trying each other’s drinks in cocktail bars that I think are way too sweet.
- Jumping out from around corners and making you jump. I’m really good at it.
- The many Netflix parties.
- Coming back from lectures to the laughter in the kitchen.
- The late-night phone-calls.
- Birthdays and party hats. 20 is not too old for a party hat.
- Watching you chaotically run around the kitchen while you try to make enough tea to last your next lecture.
- Long walks and conversations over coffee in the cold.
- Mamma Mia days with an obligatory singalong.
Celebrate the love you have for your friends; it often goes unnoticed.