Have you ever wondered where you’d be without your friends?
Today I spent literally seven and a half hours on video calls. Two hours with a friend of mine in Spain, and another five and a half with a friend here in the city. That amount of time spent with them made me think about friends in general — and how grateful I am for all of mine.
It’s no surprise for anyone who knows me how dedicated I am to my friends. They are really some of the most important people in my life. When things get rough, I run to them. When I want to celebrate, I run to them.
A couple of years ago, one of my best friends asked me, out of nowhere, if I thought I was her friend for everything. I answered that I’d like to think so and asked her what she meant.
I think I can count on you for everything, she said matter-of-factly.
That warmed my heart. I truly feel that being able to be there for my friends is one of the things that brings the most joy to my life. But lately, I’ve been noticing how much my friends are also there for me all the time.
It’s hard for me to open up and ask for help. I tend to put on a brave face and try to deal with all my problems by myself. But every so often, I feel a tap on my shoulder and there it is — a friend checking in on me and reminding me that I’m not alone.
Today, I felt grateful for my friends. I always do, but somedays feel extra special, and I realize I’m the luckiest.
In the morning, I spent two hours talking to a friend about our creative processes. She and I have had a great dynamic ever since we shared an apartment in Los Angeles. She says I’m the yin to her yang, and I couldn’t agree more.
If one of us was down, the other was ready to be there. We survived the roller-coaster of emotions that was our experience at apartment 441/36 that way, supporting each other through it all.
Talking about some of our creative exercises this week, I realized that so much of what I’ve accomplished so far was because I had her by my side. Sometimes, having been through so much together is a bond that remains unbreakable through thick and thin.
Then later today, I had a meeting with another friend. She’s been in my life for almost twenty years, and through all this time, she’s always been one of my biggest supporters. She is, at times, even more enthusiastic about my projects than me.
That’s how we ended up in this meeting, actually. I told her about something I was planning on doing, and she immediately told me she wanted in.
We’ve been helping each other for years because we were fortunate enough to end up working with similar things. Whenever I had something new going on, she’d be the first to know. Whenever she needed help, I was there to give her a hand. It was truly only a matter of time before we started something together.
We spent five and a half hours creating our project, and in the end, I realized I might have never taken this into action if it weren’t for her enthusiasm.
It was a long day, and at the same time, a day I will always be grateful for. It gave me the realization that sharing plans and projects with my friends will never fail to bring happiness to my life.
