The friends you surround yourself with either raise your standards or lower them. They either help you to be your best self or cause you to be your worst. They can be a source of endless laughter and happiness or a source of constant frustration. With that being said, take special care in choosing the people you surround yourself with as you often pick up their quirks, habits and attitudes. You are a reflection of your friends just as they are a reflection of you.
You deserve a friend who holds you accountable, guiding you back on your path when you stray. You deserve someone who has your best interest at heart and is genuinely happy for you when you succeed. You deserve a person to be your go-to when you feel like no one else understands what is going on in your head. You deserve someone who you feel comfortable with even when you are at your most vulnerable. You deserve someone who will be honest with you even if it isn’t the easiest thing to do. You deserve someone who will answer your 2 a.m. phone calls with only a minimal amount of complaining. You deserve someone you can trust unconditionally because in the end, they’re an extension of yourself.
You don’t deserve a friend who has an endless supply of “sorrys” but never admits he or she was wrong. You don’t deserve someone who is never at fault for anything. You don’t deserve someone who belittles you or discourages your goals and aspirations. You don’t deserve a friend who doesn’t make time or put forth effort. You don’t deserve someone who doesn’t know the difference between a mistake and a choice. You don’t deserve friendship that you have to justify.
However, life is a learning process and it’s not uncommon to find yourself in a toxic or one-sided friendship. Maybe someone you thought you knew better than the back of your hand turned out to be a complete stranger. Walking away from a toxic or one-sided friendship isn’t easy, but it is necessary. Friends are an essential part of a person’s support system, so why would you lean on something that’s broken?
That doesn’t mean you should walk through life worried that you are going to make the wrong choice when choosing a friend. Instead, when you find a good friendship hold onto it because like I said earlier: friends are like mirrors and good friends reflect themselves onto you, making you a better person. So the next time you’re having a laugh with you best friend, stop for a second and recognize how lucky you are to have that one person because your life is better off because of them.
