“In life you will realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you, and some will teach you. But most important are the ones that bring out the best in you. Those are the ones worth keeping around.”
Since being back in Snowflake, I have really learned and come to understand the importance of good friends. Moving back to Arizona for the summer seemed like a dream for a while when I was at school. That is until I realized that I had made some of the most incredible friends ever in Logan. It has been beyond difficult to be away from them. Those friends are the friends I love deeply, and would give anything for. They accept me the way I am, and encourage me to be me. They are the least judgmental, and most accepting humans ever. Unfortunately, these are the friends and people that are very rare. I consider myself extremely lucky to have friends like them...
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| 2 of 3 of the best friends I could ask for, Matt and Kyle Grimes. |
What defines a good friend? To me I could name so many things, but the questions that come to my mind are: Do they make you happy? Do they Encourage you to do the things you are passionate about? Do you feel comfortable talking to them? and many many more. I spent many years in the past with an emptiness in my heart, needed to be filled with genuine friends. Yes, I had good friends, but I did not have a group of true friends. These friends did not come until college, where I grew up a bit and I came to a point in my life where I was able to discern what an authentic friend looked like.
One important thing I learned in life is that: We all have moments that confuse us. We need to gain the knowledge that we are not alone. Those that are there for you through your weakest times will always support you, those that haven’t supported or cared for you in a positive way need to be cut from your life in order for you to achieve or accomplish things that are meant for you. Even those you feel wouldn’t understand, appreciate or acknowledge your right to walk your journey without negativity, should be held in the highest regard. Don’t share things with anyone that won’t respect you as a person. Until they prove to be someone that you can trust and count on - allow them back into your life, but always go with your first gut instinct. We are all imperfect people going through very difficult things, but that does that make us any better or worse than anyone else! We give advice because of our experiences. Without those experiences we wouldn’t know the things we know now. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, then they don’t know, because they haven’t gone through it. Every beginning is better than no beginning. We all need to start somewhere; the smallest steps always lead to the bigger and biggest achievements in life. We may have a relapse or moments when we think we cannot go on, but those trying moments are the most crucial in helping us realize that we had the strength all along. That is why having good friends is important. We need to believe in ourselves, and our friends need to believe in us. We all need the encouragement and that "push". Why keep the people in our lives if they don't give us that strength?
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| Blake, I hope you know how much you mean to me. I love you very much. |
So here is goodbye to the fake friends. The friends who never encouraged me to chase my dreams. The ones who always made me feel out of place, and insecure. To the friends who never wanted to see me succeed, especially if it made your idea of life seem flawed. To you who talked behind my back, trust me I know what you said. To "my lip-service friends" that never saw me for who I am and never gave me a chance to offer what I have to offer. I was just never good enough, no matter what I did. My life is so much better and so are my friends.
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| Hayden Farr and I after a really awesome night of taking photos. |
