As a friend, I have been called many things...loyal, kind, good at listening, and patient. Something that I've noticed I could work on is being more nurturing. When a friend needs me, I am always there. But am I helpful in emotional situations? Am I a good shoulder to cry on? I'm not sure. Crying (my own or someone else's) makes me very uncomfortable and while it's easy for me to empathize with others, I don't think my supportive words are enough sometimes. My helpful friend speeches probably go more along the lines of "There, there" and patting a friend on the shoulder, as opposed to being emotionally present in the moment.

I am better at action than listening to a friend's problems. I'm the friend who goes, "He broke your heart? Let me go kick his ass for you" instead of, "Tell me what's wrong, and let me help you work through your issue." While I can still listen to my friends' problems, giving advice is really tough for me. I'm not so talkative, and prefer to listen rather than speak. When you have talkative friends, this works in your favor but it may seem one-sided because you don't give as much advice as you get.

But I want to change this, so for my New Year's Resolution, I vow to work on being nurturing and emotionally "there" for my friends. I can make a dope "get well soon" care package, but I need to get better at simply talking through problems with my friends. I want to be a shoulder to cry on for them; that's an important part of being a good friend. And because of this, my resolution stands as this: I will try to be a better friend in 2017 than I was in 2016. I want to be the best friend that I can be.