It's no secret we make countless friends throughout our lifetimes.
And as I've gotten older, I've come to realize friends don't necessarily mean the people you pour your soul out to.
A friend can be someone you've had two classes this semester with. Maybe you've been talking since middle school (which for those of you who've managed this...props).
It can be someone who's seen you at your worst or just someone you see often enough in the halls!
We all make different friends, ones that don't always stay in our lives, but leave some mark one way or another.
After some reevaluation of some people in my life, I concluded the three kinds of friends you'll usually always have
1. The friends that raise you
These are usually the ones that know what dopey dog videos to send your way after a breakdown or shower you with praise after that presentation you had been nervous about all week. And not even to those extremes, the lifters in your life are the ones you know you can go to about anything, and know you're in the best hands. (Shout out to the ones in my life, you know who you are! ^^)
2. The friends that challenge you
They probably lift you up from time to time, but they're the friends who help you break your boundaries. Maybe they helped you work up the nerve to study abroad or apply for the job you were sure you'd never get. They've also probably stopped you from doing a lot of stupid stuff. You probably get into intense--yet harmless--debates about everything from your favorite movies to what's actually going on in the world. The friends that introduce you to the complexities of the world outside your own. You've got to be grateful for them; if they never showed up, how else would you see everything differently?
3. The friends that change you
Perhaps change isn't the right way to put this. I probably should have put the friends who try to change you. We all have things about our friends we don't necessarily like, but changing someone to fit what we like is never okay.
Recent life events made me reevaluate someone who I thought was really my friend. Someone who was judging me, disrespecting who I was trying to be, and trying to change me. It had been going on for years and I couldn't even realize until the breaking point. Needless to say, I stopped giving my time to this person and started giving more to the ones who actually deserve it.
A friend should be someone who lifts you, maybe not in the ways you expect, but never in the ways that hurt you. Never take less than what you deserve in anything, especially from the people you chose to keep in your life.
