To Friends & Friendship :)

So I couldn't really stop myself from writing it, as I had written “On this Day” last year.
<friends-blessing-in-disguise> Fb why do you get annoying and feel that you, out of all, need me to remind about my friends -_- !!! Blessed are those who can count their friends on hand :)

They say it’s hard to know who your real friends are. And they’re not kidding. The love and friendship of close friends is not a luxury – but a necessity for survival. Like air or water. It’s good to know early on the difference between an acquaintance and a true friend though! There are many colors of friendship: affection, protection, guidance, brotherhood and even teasing. Friendship is all about these and much more.

Of all the things I've learnt about friendship over the years, it is that 1) a good friendship is a two-way path and 2) friendships, like everything else in this world, are not perfect, and I say that without a single hint of skepticism (on the contrary, it is sometimes these differences that we cherish the most, right? The differences of opinion, yet you stick to each other when need arises)

And above all friends listen. Whether you are relating a good or bad experience, they simply listen, letting you get everything off your chest. When you have vented, they may offer a suggestion, but they also accept that you have to follow what is in your heart. They don't try to control you. They don't try to make you the kind of person they think you should be, they just accept you. They accept you, whether you are loud and noisy or shy and quiet, whether you are always early or late, whether you are organized and clean or unorganized and sloppy, or whether you are fashionable or frumpy. Real friends look beyond these things, as they are trivial in the long range. And they can pick up where they left off, regardless of the time and distance that separates them. They can go months without speaking, but when they do, it seems like yesterday. It doesn't matter who calls who, or who called who last, they are just glad to hear from each other. 

It's funny; often, as we get a bit older, our social circles can become smaller( not VIRTUALLY), and as people become busier with careers & perhaps disperse to the other side of town or country or even thousands of miles overseas - we gradually tend to see less of each other. This has been the case for me but, at the same time, I've also grown to appreciate and cherish those good friends even more. They enrich my life in so many ways and I can't count the times I've felt I'd be lost without them. They're partners in crime and lighthouses in storms (and thankfully they're lovely enough to forgive my idiosyncrasies/tantrums). 
      Be kind enough to look beyond the surface, y'all!