"When someone truly cares about you, they make an effort, not an excuse." -Unknown

There comes a time in our lives when the rubber meets the road and we truly find out who is there for us when we need them the most. When someone makes us mad, we are so easy to “unfriend” them online. However, when reality sets in, cutting the ties in person is not so easy. But the sad thing is, most of us stay friends because it’s convenient, or we’ve “been friends for so long.”

Friendship is so much more than who you’ve known the longest, how close your families are, or what you have in common. Friendship is about loving and caring for one another no matter the circumstance. It's about lending a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on, but also being there to hold one another accountable. The gift of friendship is more than just having someone to spend our time or to post pictures with, rather, friendship is a true blessing. When the right friends come into our lives we will always have a stable support system, those who are near to pick us up when we are down.

True friendship stems from those who don’t second guess the distance or how much it costs but will do whatever it takes to lend a helping hand. It saddens me that society today characterizes friendship by, “Snapchatting each other” or “Messaging on Facebook a couple of weeks ago.” No, friendship is about picking up the phone and asking how their ill grandfather is doing or driving over an hour just to see them for lunch.

I’m a lover and a passionate one at that. I will do whatever I can to help my friends in need. You need money? I’ll buy your food. You need gas? I’ll drive us. You need clothes? Borrow mine. I understand that not everyone is wired like me and not everyone loves as passionately as I do. But, what I don’t understand is how can you treat someone as if they don’t exist but you call them your so-called “friend?"

I guess what I’m trying to say is that a lot changes when you’re in college. Best friends change, family changes, and even roommates change. In college, you truly find out who your friends are. One day they’re there for you, and the next, they’re not. Take this time to contemplate the friendships you have in your life. Are you treating those you love with respect and kindness? Are you showing your friends support and commitment to the friendship?

Friendship isn’t about helping others when it’s convenient for you, or whenever you feel like it. If you want to keep your friends I challenge you to show them that you sincerely care. Give credit where credit is due. Lend a helping hand. Pick up the phone and call them. Congratulate them on their success. Even the smallest of things can strengthen a relationship. As Tracy Lawrence once said “You find out who your friends are, somebody’s gonna drop everything…never stop to think "what’s in it for me?" or ‘it’s way too far’, they just show on up with their big ol’ hearts."

In just one three-minute song he completely summed up the meaning of true friendship. Just because we have friends doesn’t mean we have true friendships.