I know this post is late in honor of Galentine’s / Valentine’s Day, but I really do want to emphasize that female friendships are just as important as romantic love. Female friendships provide companionship, support and a platonic relationship. I know from my fair share of female friendships, we all empower each other to be our best and support each other. So, Galentine’s Day, celebrated on the day before Valentine’s Day, has been trending lately through social media to celebrate love and friendship, not just among friends, but family members too. While I personally don’t have any personal tradition for celebrating Galentine’s Day, I plan to create my own tradition in the next couple of years.

There is nothing special like a close female friend. Biologically, women develop a sense of trust and comfortability opening up to each other about struggles. I know when I personally have struggles, I turn to my family and friends. Also, we have promote and encourage self-care for ourselves. Love is not just about what you give and receive to others, but also what you give to yourself. If you don’t give yourself the attention, emotional nourishment and space you need, you’re not really able to give that to others. As much as friends can be a great support system, you have to acknowledge your own self-worth. For many, this can be years-long struggle in the making with emotional wounds, but I highly encourage you to seek out a trusted professional to work through these issues, and if you’re faith-based like me, prayer is the secret sauce to life. When you take care of yourself and wounds, you are able to freely give the same love to others. I can probably give you countless examples of positive female friendships in the media but I’m sure you can think of one you really admire. But nothing ever beats reading real-life stories of women forming strong bonds. We are all naturally wired to want love, both physical and platonic to inspire towards personal growth. But celebrating female friendships and yourself, shouldn’t stop at the day before Valentine’s Day, it should be celebrated every day. All relationships deserve to be honored every single day. So the next time you decide to celebrate Galentine’s Day, remember, it’s not about the gifts, it’s about treating every moment with your friends as if it’s your last.