A Tribute

“A person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.”  This is the first definition that came up on dictionary.com for the word “friend.”  I was planning on writing a blog about friendship and referring to the dictionary definition for verification; but I just don’t think that the definition actually defines what friendship really is.  To me it’s more than “affection or personal regard.”  Friendship is love, support, laughter, tears, trust, and the mutual feeling that life wouldn’t be the same without that person.  Being a friend means being there for the other person no matter what is happening- whether that means listening to them while they cry and offering your support, or laughing and celebrating with them when life just can’t seem to get any better.  A true friend is someone you can count on when the rest of the world is falling apart.  A rock, a confidant, a treasure.  Someone who will offer you their advice but will still stand by you even when you don’t follow it.  A friend will let you make your own mistakes and who will be there to help you pick up the pieces.  Someone who is happy when you’re happy, and sad when you’re sad.  Someone who will not only laugh at you, but with you.  Someone who will defend you when another person speaks ill of you.  A friend is someone who hears you when you say nothing at all.  Someone who is just as content to stay in on a Friday night as they are to go out, as long as they’re with you.  Someone who will give you the space you need when you need it, and who knows when space is actually the last thing you need.  A friend is someone who accepts your faults, but never stops helping you to become a better person.  A friend will tell you the truth, even when you don’t want to hear it.  A friend is someone you enjoy spending time with and whom you miss when you’re apart.  A friend is a person that you love and who loves you in return.  A person that makes your world a little better, just by being in it.  A person that you can’t imagine living without.

“Wherever you are, it’s your friends who make your world.”
                            -- Footnotes necklace

If I’ve learned anything in the past 4 months, it’s that friendship is this world’s most precious gift and should be treasured.  I have been blessed beyond words with the friends that I have in my life.  Some of them have been around since preschool or elementary school recess; others middle and high school; some I met in college biology lab, my sorority, or even my freshman dorm floor; some I met while I studied in Spain; and others still I have met in the past four months here in Peru.  But each of these people that I call my friends has affected me in some way or another.  They’ve changed who I am, and who I want to be.  They’ve changed the way I see things and the outlook I have on the world.  They’ve made me want to be a better person.

“So much of me is made of what I learned from you.  You’ll be with me like a handprint on my heart.  And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend.”
                            -- “For Good,” Wicked

I have also learned that friendship doesn’t mean being on the same continent as someone else or seeing another person on a daily basis.  Friendship goes deeper than that.  Friendship is the ability to maintain a relationship even though thousands of miles separate you and the only time you can talk is when you’re on your cement slab in the middle of town.  What I’ve come to realize is that true friends will do whatever they can to stay friends.  It’s so hard to keep in touch with everyone while I’m here in Peru, but the facebook messages, texts, phone calls, emails, letters, and packages make it so much easier.  They let me know that I can come back in 2 years and still have the same friends as when I left.  Sure, the relationship will be different, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t still be a friendship.  I have complete confidence that my friends now will be my friends for life, if we both make a commitment to stay friends.  And friends, you have my word that I will do whatever I can to stay friends with you all.

“I hope you stay in touch. Never forget what you mean to each other, or the affect you’ve had on each other’s lives.  Because friendship can really never be over or under estimated.”
                            -- Dawson’s Creek

So, friends, this is my tribute to you.  Thank you for sculpting me and helping me become the person I am.  Thank you for supporting me, for having faith in me, for believing in me.  Thank you for being there.  Thank you for encouraging me.  Thank you for never giving up on me.  Thank you for being you.  Thank you for being my friend.