After experiencing a year full of trials and tribulations, I have come to the conclusion that less is more when dealing with friendships.

I have always been the type of person who believed the more the merrier, but when dealing with the most personal aspects of your life, it becomes important that less be the idea, which is a concept I have recently jumped on board with. With all that I have dealt with in 2018, I am grateful to be able to say that I have had a few great friends holding me down in the midst of the storms. Not a hundred, not ten. Just a few great friends who have been there, showing me that less is more.

As independent as I like to believe I am, I have to admit that when it comes to dealing with life, I struggle to hold myself up on my own.

I don't like to admit defeat and I don't like to feel like I don't have myself together 24/7. But my friends, my great friends, have been here to make sure I know that it's OK not to be OK, and it's OK to need someone. Not always will we be able to glide through life with a helping hand that is 100% OK, which is what my small group has helped me to see.

But even during the times, I was more than willing to open up or the times when I was too emotional to keep my feelings in, they were there. They rushed to be with me, help me and listen to me when I felt like I was falling apart. And they did it all without complaint.

As I went through my hard times this year, I began to realize that each time the same people were there.

They were there to listen and speak, they were there to comfort and guide, all with genuine concern for me. So after experiencing this love and sense of comfort from the same few individuals over and over again, I came to realize that this small group is the only group I'll need the next two years in college. They're the ones I can count on, every single time. They've seen my good days and bad days, but most importantly, they've been there through all of these days; something which I will forever be grateful for.

To my friends, who have seen me in all of the forms, good and bad, thank you for showing me that less is more in friendships. Thank you for being my tight-knit group of people. Thank you for being true friends and even greater people.