The Best Friends You Need in Your Life.
Everyone should have a person. Their person. You know the one. The one that you can depend on. The one that you call when you’re bored. The one that helps you move apartments for the fourth time, even when they don’t want to. The one that comes over and digs through your wine fridge without asking. The one who knows it all and loves you anyway. You know, your best friend.
Wanna know a secret? I have a whole bunch of them. Yep, little ol’ me. A whole bunch. Someone said to me recently that I wasn’t allowed to have more than one best friend. Uh, ya I sure as hell can and I dare you to tell me otherwise.
The thing about best friends is that they come to you during different stages of your life. They each have a unique purpose that allows the little scale in your brain to remain balanced and stable at all times (okay, maybe most of the time). They have different personalities and help fill different voids that sometimes you didn’t even realize you needed to fill.
So I’ve come to this conclusion. Everyone should have these types of friends. Find them and love them real hard. In no particular order, let me introduce you to mine.
The One You Grew Up With. Sisters make the best of friends. They will hopefully be your favorite person in the whole world and will probably be the only person you can tolerate staying in your house for several weeks at a time. She knows your whole history, can relate to the idiosyncrasies of your family and reminds you to be true to yourself at all times. She’s accepting, so incredibly fun and makes you believe that you can do absolutely anything you want to and supports you no matter what. This is the friend that is the ultimate BFF.
The One You Roast. This one. Man oh Man this friend is fun. From an outsiders perspective, it looks like you and she bicker nonstop. You roast each other nonstop. And you always, always laugh at each other. But, you two speak a language that no one else understands, and you like it that way. She will come help at your sister’s bridal shower just to reduce your stress level. She kicks her husband out of their bed when you stay at their house so the two of you can have a slumber party. She’ll drive from California to Texas with you, just so you have company. This is the friend who you hope will never stop roasting you, even when you tell her to shut up.
The One You Met in High School. This one is the oldie but goodie. You’ve been through most stages of life with this person and the two of you are as close of friends as you were during your freshmen year of high school. She speaks to you, and you speak to her, in brutal honesty, exactly like you’d speak to a sibling. She brings her husband to your house to help you hang up televisions and curtain rods. Her entire family treats you as if you’re one of them. She gave birth to the very first kid to ever call you Auntie. This is the friend who you share decades of memories with and you can’t wait for decades more.
The One You Share a Similar Lifestyle With. Everyone needs a friend that has a similar path as you and that you can relate to, because she relates to you. When all of your other friends are getting married and having babies, this friend will hop on a plane and explore new cities with you. She is quirky and funny and marches to no one’s drum but her own. The two of you have cats from the same litter and share a love for animals. She is focused on her career, just like you. This is the friend that you can bond with about things that other friends don’t understand and for that, you’re forever grateful.
The One You Turn to For Help. In my case, this one is the one that everyone turns to for help. Her front door (and her garage door!) is always open to you and every other single person she knows. She will help you make party decorations and T-Shirts for your sister’s bachelorette party. She travels long distances to help you pack, or unpack your new house. And she shows up at your apartment with Sour Patch Kids, your favorite soda and her dog to make you feel better when you break up with your boyfriend. This is the friend that you hope gets as much from you as you get from her.
The One You Dance on Tables With. If you’re lucky like me, this friend is brilliant, mentors you and gives you incredible advice, and then has an alter-ego that comes out when she’s ready to have a good time. She loves tambourines and Fleetwood Mac, dancing on countertops and twirling around cars, pools, tables and pretty much anywhere else. She has an incredible fashion sense and can convince you to buy that perfect dress in about three minutes flat. She makes you feel like you’re stronger and smarter than you give yourself credit for. This is the friend that reminds you that it is absolutely possible to work hard and play hard.
The One You Started Your Career With. As someone fresh out of college, everyone needs a friend that you meet at your first job who quickly becomes your work bestie. She is someone that you spent your 20’s (and now 30’s!) laughing with. You take a trip one year to San Diego and all of the sudden it’s nine years later and you’re getting ready for your 9th Annual vacation. She shares your love of food and cocktails and loves to order pancakes for Mr. Middle. This is the friend who is one of the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful people ever and you know that if you need her, she’s there.
The One You Added Later in Life. This is the friend that you didn’t see coming. It’s hard to make friends as an adult so if you’re lucky, you’ll click with someone at work. You spend a nine day work trip in New York together and then are pretty inseparable after that point. She listens to you vent about work, cry about anything and laugh so hard that you can’t breath. And if you’re really lucky, you’ll move into a house 100 feet away from hers and spend a year back and forth between the two houses, playing games, going on walks and drinking a whole bunch of wine. This is the friend who helped you believe that it’s okay to change your path, even later in life.
Life is too short to be surrounded with people who don’t make you feel good. These women never, ever make me feel bad. I laugh harder, smile more, and think deeper with them than I ever thought I would. I’m a lucky one.
Get some of these friends. I mean, not mine, you can’t have mine. But get some that are like them. You’ll be a lucky one, too.
