Remember elementary school when everybody knew each other? We all played the same games and went to the same birthday parties, and, with the exception of some playground quarrels, we were all friends. At least, that’s how it was for me. All my childhood friends traveled as a pack until Junior High (common story, I know). I ended up moving and knew absolutely no one at my school. I spent my Junior High years floating from one group of friends to the next; no one ever stayed consistent. Since I bounced from one social group to the next, I eventually knew a lot of people in my school. I had a lot of “friends.”

Throughout the years, my friend groups got smaller and smaller until I had no friends at all. I really couldn’t figure out how I went from having an entire school full of friends to having no one.  I realized then that none of those people were my friends; I just knew them. I didn’t even know what a real friend looked like. There had been so many people that I had called “friend” that had simply breezed through my life, gone in a blink. I became so used to this that I didn’t bother getting too attached to any of my friends when I had them; I figured they wouldn’t last long, and I was right most of the time. This mindset eventually ruined my friendships; I couldn’t enjoy or value any of the relationships that I had.

It took years for me to make real friends. Even when I first met the good friends that I have now, I still wasn’t very trusting. I expected the same treatment as any other so-called friend. I expected to be best friends one minute and then get bored of each other the next, eventually losing touch for good. As time passed and my friendships continued (by their effort, believe me), one day it hit me. A light bulb in my brain went off, and I realized the great reality of my situation: I have true, honest friends that disprove the stereotypes of the other friendships I have been a part of before.

The friends I have now taught me what friendship is. I value all of my friends for every wonderful, unique thing that they bring to the world and for what they have given me. I’ve learned that friends are more than someone to hang out with. They lend a comforting shoulder to cry on when you’re struggling, they celebrate with you during the good times, and they call you out when you’re being sassy and rude. My friends have helped me in so many ways and have changed me for the better. I understand now that the quality of people you surround yourself with is much more important than the amount of people you know.