‘

You have to be a friend to have a friend. I think so many people forget about this. We get so wrapped up in our own problems. We care too much about our own happiness that we don’t see what is happening around us. We start to concentrate more on ourselves than our friends. And although our happiness is incredibly important, so is our friends’ happiness. Because once you start thinking more about your best friend, once you start striving to fix their problems and genuinely caring about their lives, they will do the same for you. We have to stop this competition. Too many friends are jealous of each other. There’s a constant cycle of who can be better, who can be prettier, who can be smarter. It’s sick. We should want to see each other succeed. We should encourage each other.

So, that’s what I started to do. I made a decision to only keep friends in my life who I wholeheartedly wanted to see succeed. And if they felt the need to compete with me or they didn’t add something beneficial to my life, I kicked them out of my life. If they made me sad, I shut them out. That may sound cold. But it’s not. It was the best decision for me and it was the best decision for them. Now, I can focus my attention on my friends who deserve it. I can confidently say that I have become a way better friend, and because of that, I have gained some pretty awesome friends who all love me and want to see me succeed.

It’s true what they all say. It’s better to have a small group of close-knit friends rather than a large group of friends that you aren’t as close to. I never believed that. I saw power in numbers. I felt best when I was in a large group. But, when it came down to it, there wasn’t anyone there for me. And it was impossible for me to be there for every single one of them. But now, as I’ve narrowed that group and it’s shrunk, I have so much more love for each and everyone of them. I had always been scared that if I din’t have a large group of friends, I would have a fight with one of my few friends and then I would be alone. I was, and still am, incredibly terrified of being alone. I depend on my friends so much. But as my group of friends whittled down, I don’t hold that fear anymore. I know that my friends will always be there for me and that’s one of the best feelings to have.

So, this is a thank you to my friends. If you’re reading this, you know who you are and you should know exactly how much I love you. Thank you for wanting the best for me. I’m so lucky to be able to call you my friends and thank you for sticking by my side. It’s been swell experiencing life with you all. I hope we can all be friends for many more years to come. Actually, I know that we will be friends for many more years to come because I can’t imagine life without you.