Best friends are important. Most of us have someone who is our main person and who we can call upon at any time, but we sometimes forget to thank these people for everything they do. So, here's a reminder of the things our best friends do for us every day.
1. Being honest with you when it’s important.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been way too close to a bad situation and one of my best friends tells it like it is. Your bestie is the one who tells you that your new shirt makes you look really pale, or exactly how stupid it is that your datemate ditched you last week to go bowling with their friends. Maybe you said something that you meant to be funny or teasing, but someone found it hurtful or insulting. You need to be told, and someone’s gonna tell you; your best friend isn’t going to sugarcoat things that shouldn’t be sugarcoated. They know what they’re doing.
2. Lying (to you and to others) when it’s necessary.
“I heard the test is going to be really easy!” is way more comforting than telling you that they saw the straight-A student leave the room freaking out. “She was at my house all night,” is an excellent cover story from your best friend, even though you both fully know you went to a party. How great is it to have a best friend who will look your ex dead in the eye and say that you’re in a fabulous new relationship and couldn’t be happier — even if your new datemate is your mini-fridge? Best friends know when it is acceptable or even necessary to lie.
3. Being your plus-one when you were single.
So, you’re going to prom or a boring work event or a wedding where you won’t know anyone except the groom (hey, it happens!), and you don’t have a date. What to do? You really don’t want to go alone and undergo the torture that is sitting at a table with strangers, all who know each other. No fear! Your best friend will totally come with you and make inappropriate jokes under their breath, and maybe even pose as a significant other if the random classmate/elderly coworker/groom’s mother starts hinting around about your love life. Unbearable events are definitely made more bearable with a best friend.
4. Celebrating your triumphs as their own.
You got the job you wanted! You wrote a book! You successfully folded a fitted sheet! (All things that have happened to me.) Your best friend is the first one you call, and they celebrate with you. Why? Because you’re practically family and something good is happening to you. What more reason do they need? They’re hella proud of you and they want to show it. Look at you, getting stuff done! You rock!
5. Taking care of you when you need taking care of.
The truth is, you have probably made some bad choices. Maybe you walked four miles by yourself, in the dark, with an almost-dead phone. Maybe you had a little bit too much to drink at that party last night. Maybe you got involved with the wrong guy and he 100% stomped on your heart. Your best friend is going to be right there to yell at you for making bad choices, and then to cuddle you and buy you ice cream and maybe make you a hangover remedy. Did you make bad choices? Yup. Is your best friend going to tell you so? Probably. Will they abandon you to the consequences of your actions? Never.
6. Being there for you anytime, for any reason.
Most of us have someone we can call when we’re in trouble. If we’re really lucky, we can call them at 11:30 at night because we’re suddenly really anxious and want to talk to someone. (I’m extra lucky, because one of my best friends always stays up insanely late and another one lives in a time zone three hours behind me.) Best friends might groan about you interrupting their beauty sleep, but if you need them, they’ll be there.
7. Never letting you give them any crap.
Best friends are the ones who know you best and, as a result, they can tell when you’re bullshitting yourself or them. Occasionally, it's a defense mechanism and your bestie will let it slide; but more often you’re just ignoring reality, and your best friend is going to make you face it. As annoying as it is not to be able to live in fantasyland, your best friend knows you need to face the real world.
8. Getting you out of the house when you kinda want to stay in bed.
On more than one occasion, I’ve been roused from my bed by a friend calling me and saying that they were going to be at my house in half an hour and I need to put on pants. Usually, I moan and groan about it — ugh, I really wanted to sleep in and do nothing, it’s Saturday, go away. But I invariably have more fun going out with my friends on some adventure than I would staying in bed. Sometimes, you just need someone to drag you, kicking and screaming, to where the fun is.
9. Supporting you when you need support.
Nobody has a drama-free life. (Show me someone who does and I’ll trade with them in a heartbeat.) Sometimes, people will start drama for no other reason than liking to start drama - and, sometimes, they’ll start it with you. Why? No reason. You might be fun to start some drama with. I’ve seen an innocent remark turn into full-fledged warfare in a friend group, with everyone taking sides and the original innocent remarker trying to figure out what the hell is happening. In such situations, you often discover which friends will support you and which will not. If you’re wrong, a good friend will tell you so, but they don’t like the pot-stirring any more than you do.
10. Supporting you when you don’t need support.
I don’t know about other people’s friends, but mine are definitely overprotective and, even though it can be really frustrating, it’s also super sweet. Best friends are the ones who take a look at someone who once hurt you and say, “Can’t I kill them just a little bit?”, and while you do feel responsible for saying "No, don’t kill them, I’m really over it," or, "I don’t actually want them dead," or, "I don’t have enough money to bail you out afterwards," it’s really heartwarming to feel that your friends will literally kill for you.
11. Telling you exactly what they know you need to hear.
Sometimes the inner voice telling you what you already know gets drowned out by worry, insecurity, or good, old-fashioned avoidance. At that point, your best friends are there to tell you the same thing- that everything is fine, that you are loved and wanted, and that you can do anything. That's what they're there for.
12. Making you smile, even when you don’t feel like smiling.
We all have days when everything kind of sucks. On those days, it can be really hard to keep smiling and being positive. Best friends are there on those days, ready to make you smile with an old joke or a cheerful little anecdote, or maybe just a really bad pun. There are very few things in life that can't be helped by someone who wants to see you smile.
13. Not giving up on you when you give up on yourself.
Every now and then, someone in my life has a moment where they just feel awful about themselves or about who they are and what they're doing in life. Occasionally, that person is me. Every time it happens, my best friends are there to remind me of what makes me important as a person, what I've accomplished already, why they stick around, and what I mean to them. That's probably the most important thing best friends do.
Here's to best friends and all they do!
