The older I get, the more it seems like the main type of love that people talk about or find important is the romantic kind. While romantic love is a beautiful and important type of love, there are other types that, unfortunately, tend to be swept to the side. They seen as a less vital part of life. One of the most important types of love that we have that is not necessarily romantic love is the love that is shared between friends. However, this kind of love is rarely given the credit it deserves. The roommates we live with, classmates we study with, and people we work with all play an extremely vital role in our lives, and the way we show love to them can have a drastic effect on the joy received from the friendship.

When we were little kids in kindergarten, we learned that what it takes to be a friend includes smiling at people, sharing your toys, giving hugs, helping out with difficult tasks, and talking and listening to each other. We would instantly feel very upset if a classmate took a toy from us, as we knew that was not the right thing to do. If a friend got hurt at recess, we would offer him or her a hug to help him or her feel better. If we did anything wrong, we would eventually apologize and make up. We were so good at being friends before we even understood the depth of what being a friend means.

As we get older, we tend to outgrow some of these tendencies. If we get something great, we rarely want to share it because we want to keep it for ourselves. We shy away from smiling at strangers out of fear of being seen as “weird”. Overall, we have forgotten how to truly show non-romantic love to each other.

Any romance movie can offer examples, both good and bad, of what it means to be a good girlfriend or boyfriend. Many also show traits of a good friend, but the love that is shared between two friends is often very overshadowed by the love shown between lovers.

We have gotten so caught up in showing love for our boyfriend or girlfriend, which is great in itself, but we sometimes forget about the importance of showing love to our other friends. How often do we sit in a room with our friends, just staring at our phone screens instead of talking to each other? When was the last time we hung out with friends and didn’t have to take 30 pictures just to prove we were having a fun time?

I find myself very often hearing people say how jealous they are of one of their friends just because something great happened to him or her, instead of just being happy for their friend. So many people enter conversation with the intent to share all the information they possibly can, not with the intent to truly listen to the other person. If our significant other needs something, we would help him or her in an instant. But, if our friends need something and it’s not exactly urgent or convenient, how often do we do it?

Saint Pope John Paul II said that love is “willing the good of another”. This definition can be applied to romantic love, but it can just as easily be applied to non-romantic love. Our friends, who give us so much joy, laughter, and strength, deserve our support, our hearts, our ears, our presence, and, most of all, our love.