Friendship and trust is a funny thing. Who do you confide in to tell your troubles and secrets? Do you trust someone enough to tell them, or do you keep it all bottled up?
I was at Huddle House one night with my mother and I started talking to our waitress. She said something the really stuck with me. She told me, "Friends are like trees. Some friends are roots; not going anywhere. The rest are branches-- ones that blow in the wind and fall off."
I have had so many people I considered to be roots. Girls I had thought were going to be my maid of honor, my bridesmaids, and for Grey's lovers -- the Christina to my Meredith- ended up being branches. I have known girls that I had instant connections with who are no longer in my life.
It hurts.
No one likes to lose a friend, but losing a best friend is like losing a piece of yourself. When you lose that person, who do you go to when you're down? Who do you trust to tell your secrets and problems? And do you know if you can still trust your now ex-best friend to keep your secrets? All these questions circle through your head, and it can honestly be a real headache.
But what if you loose a lot of friends at one time?
Yes, we all expect to lose friends. People come and go in our lives. With that, we experience the highs and lows of having relationships. Yet, sometimes we are hit with big losses in our lives. This happened to me. I was privileged to belong to a great organization that provided me with lots of new friends all at one time.
Many were friends, but others became "sisters" of my heart. These friends and the activities of the group occupied a large portion of my life that I gladly gave. Great days that created even greater memories that I will always remember. But life happens and sometimes change comes. With this change, my life suddenly became very empty of friendships. Though this hurt greatly, I have to believe that in the end, true friendship wins out.
We all have friends-those who smile and give the casual "hi," but those who stand by you through the thick and thin are the true friends in your life. If you have just one of them in your life then you can count yourself a lucky person. I can say that I have that. When life looks sad, my friend knows exactly what to say or do to make my life a little brighter. From singing and laughing, to going out together and late night girl talks, we are very grateful that we have been brought together.
I knew move in day-- when we bonded over our love for collards-- she would be a great friend. She has cried with me, confided in me, and drove me crazy. And for that, I'm thankful.
My love for my sorority is still there. In my eyes, I will always be a sister. Because, when you love something as much as I loved my organization, my philanthropy, and Greek life as a whole; you can't drop it. You may drop the name or the title, but you will always be a sister in your heart.
Maybe the point of friends is not having a bunch.
Maybe the point of friendship is being the best friend you can be until you're not the friend anymore.
Maybe you just go with your gut and trust someone and hope they don't share your secrets.
In the words of my favorite boy band (One Direction), "You follow your heart, even though it'll break." This goes for friendship too. You love your friends and it breaks your heart when they aren't there anymore.
But choose to see it as--- you're glad you had them in your life.
