There are some nights when I sit up in my bed, wishing I had more time to spend with my friends. Life is crazy. I look at my schedule every single year becoming more and more filled, and my thoughts of just how I am going to get everything completed become more constant. With school, work, extracurriculars, and other life priorities, it often feels like I do not even have time to sit up in my bed to think about these things.

I've always done my best to be the best version of me possible. When I see someone who is struggling, I do my best to put in an effort to make sure the things I am fortunate for in my life can somehow be integrated into theirs. There is only so much time we have to live a wholesome life, and being knowledgeable of this, I do my best to make sure anything I can offer is always offered.

We must not put ourselves last, and with some things, we should not put ourselves first either. In order to have a happy and healthy relationship with others, I have found that the middle-ground is most important. When things go wrong, we must consider the lives of the other person, but also make sure our own needs are being met.

I have learned that when you put yourself last, you will be taken advantage of. And I repeat, you really will. I just never believed it until I started to watch it happen. You also must not always put yourself first, as karma is something that always must be thought about in any relationship.

Remember the saying "if the shoe was on the other foot"? It's true, and we must be sensitive about that saying, as we never know what is happening in someone else lives.

I often think of these things, and of the ways I can sprinkle them into the relationships, I have with my friends to make these relationships even better. As life is very busy and it can be difficult to find time to spend with them always, I've learned the importance of learning that I do not always know what is going on in the life of someone else, and they do not always know everything that is going on in mine.

This is where I have learned that small arguments and miscommunications in friendships must be taken with a grain of salt—as there are often more pieces to the puzzle that we can see.

Friendships are definitely one of the best things, and it is important to cherish them as much as possible. In 2019, I hope to become more open within them, understand that everyone has other things going on that I might not always initially see, and understand that communication is key.

Drama can remain right in 2018, as I am ready for an amazing year with my friends that holds nothing but honest and pure friendships.