To the friends that give tough love,

I know friendship can be hard sometimes, and there might be things that happen that you don't always agree with. I know that there will be disagreements, arguments, maybe even the occasional big fight. However, this is all healthy as long as it isn't done to an excess. Sometimes friendship means you have to put your foot down and dig it through the dirt and grabbing your friend by the shoulders to get them to listen. Sometimes, it means a casual smack upside the head. No matter what happens, I appreciate those moments because through each disagreement, each spat, there's something to learn from this: these friends care.

It takes bravery to call out a friend when they do something that is out of line or harmful to themselves. It takes nerve to knock down their walls and barricades to get them to listen. Friendship isn't always sunshine and rainbows and with that good, comes the bad and the ugly. There will be friends who can't take that pressure and walk away. Then there are the ones who will fight back tooth and nail, through the tears and the yelling, they will make sure that you are okay. Those friends are the friends to keep. They care.

At the end of the day, these friends are also family. Family, whether blood or not, is meant to be supportive, caring, and loving, but is also meant to help a person reach their potential. The friends that give tough love, they know and understand how much their friends mean to them and they will go through all odds to make sure that they are all safe and loved. They understand that tough love isn't easy and that at times it won't be pretty. They understand that sometimes their friends will be mad at them for a few days, a few months, perhaps they might even lose that friend, but they know that they were looking out for that friend's best interest.

To the friends that give tough love: you are all amazing people. I thank you for standing through thick and thin, through laughter and tears. Without your tough love, it would be hard to know where I would be today. I appreciate you, I love you, and I am grateful for you every single day. So continue to call me out when I do something wrong and I promise to do the same. Continue to encourage me when I feel like I can't go on another day and I will say the same. Continue to be a great friend and I promise, I will be to.

From an appreciative friend.