Everyone needs a friend, they are essential to our survival as people. They help us grow and learn, not only socially, but emotionally. Friends broaden our horizons, showing us that each life is unique and different. we go through life and we meet hundreds, even thousands of people. But in reality, just because we have hundreds of Facebook friends and Twitter followers doesn't mean that they all care about you or your wellbeing. The truth is, we really only have 3-5 core friends, maybe 5-10 if you're lucky that are going to stand the test of time.

There's an old saying, that goes something like "friends come and go, but family is forever." in a lot of people's minds, their friends and their family are separate, two different categories. But, for me they are one in the same. My friends are my family, I hold them in such high esteem, my love for them is stronger than can be Imagined. In many ways, my friends have shaped my life more than anyone.

I have always had a pretty sophisticated criteria in choosing and trusting a friend. It has never been enough for me to just have something in common with another, It just couldn't be that simple for me. Being disabled, throughout my life there were a lot of people that pretended to be my friend. They were nice to me just because they felt bad about my situation. A lot of times, pretending to be somebody's friend can do a lot more harm than good. For me, I would rather you make fun of me to my face then put on a fake smile and pretend to care.

So, I started becoming savvy to those people and began to weed them out. The friends that I consider family are Genuine, good-hearted, and quite frankly, some of the best ball busters on the planet. They look at me and see nothing but a person. They can look beyond the disability, but at the same time be very very aware of it. They are quick to help, but they know when to back off. Just like any great friend, they are quick to call me out on my stupidity while having my back when it's needed. Friends can be one of life's greatest gifts, as long as you know how to choose them.