Within a minute of going on social media, I guarantee that there will be something to see about best friends. We all have friends, but not everyone has a best friend. Our whole lives, it's made out to be of vital importance that we have a best friend, but I can tell you first hand that it's perfectly okay if you don't.
I've never really had one true best friend--sure, I've had a 'best' friend for a few months, but then our friendship would die off, and the process would repeat with another friend. A best friend, to me, is somebody who has been there for a majority of your life. And if not a majority, they have to have a very large, positive impact on you.
For me, my best friend (or who I consider to be my best friend) is my boyfriend. We've been dating for almost eight months, and honestly he's outlived 95% of the friends I've had throughout my life. Maybe I'm just not one for close friendships, I don't really know, but I can tell you that I've become more independent than some of my friends who have a "best friend" or two.
Without having a best friend, you learn not to complain (as much). There isn't always someone to turn to instantly so that you can start complaining about your day, or your job, or that obnoxious girl in line at Starbucks. When these kinds of things happen and you don't have a best friend, you have to live and let go. You learn to forget the little things, forgive the minor discrepancies, and sometimes even the large ones. Without a best friend to back you up, you give more second, third, and fourth chances, whether they deserve them or not.
You don't have someone to tell you that you shouldn't follow that guy on Instagram, or that you shouldn't send a friend request to someone, when you have no mutual friends. When you don't have a best friend, you learn to figure these things out on your own.
It's really not much of a different life if you don't have a best friend, to be honest. It almost makes things easier--in the way of cleaning up your life, at least.
You don't have anyone holding you down--you don't have an anchor. You want to take a spontaneous trip? Go for it. Need a day off from school? Take a mental health day. You don't have anyone weighing you down, or holding you back from what you want to do.
In my own life, every now and then I will go through all of my forms of contact with other people--Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, even just the contacts in my phone. When you don't have a best friend, you can delete anyone you want. And when they message you saying, "Why aren't we friends anymore?", for any number of reasons, you can be completely blunt. You can say, "We don't talk anymore, and I'm not wasting my time."
Not having a best friend can get lonely sometimes, but all in all, it makes life better, in my opinion. It allows you to be more independent, and be your own person. So don't think that just because there are posts all over Facebook saying that you need a best friend, that you do.
Be you.
