Growing Up Is Easier With Good Friends

It’s a funny thing when you realize you’re growing up. A lot of things change.

You don’t realize exactly when that change happened or how your ideals and views on things changed, but they did.

I guess that’s what growing is about: Things you once thought were dumb might now be one of the coolest things ever. Your favorite color changes and so does your sense of style. You lose some friends and make some new ones.

Your view on friendship goes from, “I should fake a really cool personality and lifestyle to get these people to like me” to “I love myself and the right people will see all my quirks, weirdness, bad days and good – and love me for all of that”.

Because somewhere along the way, our life experiences brought us to a point where we crave more genuine connections with people. More than small talk. More than acquaintances. People who know us inside and out. The kind of people that will sit with you and hear you out through hard times and laugh with you and cheer you on through the good times. Because we know those connections are the ones that will last.

You learn to listen to your intuition when meeting people. You learn to seek out the people you resonate with. The people you can ‘just tell’ you’ll be friends with. And when that chance happening occurs when you find someone you connect with, please don’t let that go.

Because in this short and sweet life, if you find another human you can feel comfortable with – keep them around. If you find people you can be vulnerable with – keep them around.

If you find people you can be truly yourself with, no walls, no faking it – keep them around.

In a world where we’ve grown to be carefully skeptical of new people, allow yourself to be open to new personalities. Embrace the awkward phase. Get comfortable with vulnerability. Remember that all of your friends, past and present, started out as strangers. If something is supposed to happen then it will, but not without a little bit of love and effort.

Growing up is an awkward and weird thing for everyone. Trust your gut and find the people you want to keep in your life. Because life becomes a little more fun when you have friends to get through those moments with.