If you are anything like me, you might know that having and making friends isn't about quantity, it's all about quality.

I've never really been great at making friends, if I'm being honest. My entire childhood was spent trying to fit in with groups of girls who were clique-y, even before I knew what that meant, and never really fitting in. They all wore clothes from Abercrombie and Aeropostale (places my family couldn't afford to shop at), and they had what I thought were the coolest new backpacks and accessories, making it feel like I was even more of an outsider.

I have a twin sister, and to be even more honest with you, most of the friends I had growing up I met through her, and I'm thankful everyday for that, but you know how the story goes, you graduate and say you'll keep in touch with friends you have in high school, but what once was your group of 15 friends gets watered down to the group of five you have today.

Sad but true? Frankly, not really.

I thought it would be life altering that I wouldn't speak and see the same people I had been since kindergarten everyday, but the truth is the weeds that got picked are the ones that weren't doing anything for my garden. They weren't helping it grow or flourish, rather take up space where other plants could be growing.

So, are some things about friendship, I'm talking really thoughtful, loyal, ride or die friendship, that I've learned and can share with you are.

You have to remember that even when things get hard, harder than you ever imagined, when you aren't sure you can work things out, that you chose to be there for one another. There is a light at the end of the seemingly never ending tunnel--it's about compromise and hard work, just like any other relationship.

Friendship doesn't mean things are always easy. It's when things are hard, when you aren't connecting on the same page, when you find yourselves locked in a room together during a party you're hosting, drunkenly screaming at one another because you just want what's best for the other person.

It's not convenient, it's not smooth. Loving someone when it's convenient isn't love, and supporting someone when it's easy isn't support. You have to remember that loving and caring for someone when it's only convenient for you isn't being a good friend.

Being friends with someone isn't conditional.

So today, in my life, I choose to surround myself with people who make me feel good about myself, and my choices. People who won't sugar coat things, who will call me out on my mistakes (only to help me fix them), who will sit with me in bed for hours laughing until we cry, our bellies in danger of exploding from it. These are the people who aren't there to make judgements, as they just want to be there for you and to help you learn and continue to keep moving forward in your life.

People who treat you like garbage aren't people you want to be friends with. You deserve to have your thoughts, feelings, and passions respected by people who are willing to take the time to understand them, even if they don't necessarily agree with it.

It means being thankful for where you've been and where you are because these are the people who got you there, and will always be there to get you where you want to be going.

If at the end of the day you can say you did everything in your power to make things work, and they didn't, that's OK. And you know, sometimes people are in our lives when we need them for whatever reason, and then they leave and then we find our way back to one another way (waaaaay) down the road.

Everything happens for a reason, but just remember that what you put in is what you get back and that it takes two to tango.