How important is friendship in our life

Why Friendship Is Important

Having Friends Benefits Every Year of Our Lives

Friends can challenge us, confuse us, and sometimes, we might wonder why we bother. But friendship is as important to our wellbeing as eating right and exercising. What’s more, friendships help us grow through each year of our lives.

The friends we meet in school teach us how to be patient, wait our turn, reach out, and try new hobbies. When we move into young adulthood we learn more about taking responsibility, finding a career path, and seeking out people as mentors.

As we continue into our 40s and beyond, we learn to weather the ups and downs in life, and once again friends provide a sounding board and place for us to grow. Friendship is key to our success with all our relationships and it can create a sense of purpose in our lives.

Friends Help Us Interact With Just About Everyone

The people we bring into our lives as friends will show us how to forgive, laugh, and make conversation. The basic components of any relationship, from our marriage to our coworkers, are all founded in friendship. We learn how to interact with people because of our friends, even the ones that are opposite from us or share a different worldview.

We don’t just talk with others but learn from them. We understand the process of meeting new acquaintances and finding out what makes them tick. These people help push us out of our comfort zones while still providing a safe emotional space for us to be totally ourselves.

Friends Keep Us Mentally and Physically Strong

One of the most overlooked benefits of friendship is that it helps keep our minds and bodies strong. In fact, it’s as important to our physical health as eating well and keeping fit. A recent Harvard study concluded that having solid friendships in our life even helps promote brain health.

Friends helps us deal with stress, make better lifestyle choices that keep us strong, and allow us to rebound from health issues and disease more quickly.

Friendship is equally important to our mental health. One study even suggested spending time with positive friends actually changes our outlook for the better. That means we’re happier when we choose to spend time with happy people. (All the more reason to leave that toxic friendship behind.)

Friends Help Us Weather Lonely Times

Friends don’t completely cure loneliness (that’s a common myth) but they do help us during lonely times. We learn how to accept kindness and also to reach out when we need help. Those painful times when we might be without friends also help us to appreciate the friendships that come in and out of our lives.

Having a steady stream of friends lets us know that some friendships won’t last forever but each one brings something special. We learn more about ourselves and how important it is to have someone, just one person, who knows and understands you. This is the key to coming out of loneliness.

Friends Improve the Quality of Our Lives

Friends can change our value system so we learn to inject more meaning into our lives. In spending time with friends, we fill up our lives with great conversation, heartfelt caring and support, and laugh out loud fun. When we fall on hard times, friends are there to put things in perspective and help us. When we have success, they’re smiling at our good fortune. With down-to-earth, positive people in our life we will be more mindful of gratitude and doing nice things for others. We don’t just live when we have healthy friendships, we thrive.

6 Reasons Why Friends Are Important

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Friendships can enrich your life in many ways. Good friends teach you about yourself and challenge you to be better. They encourage you to keep going when times get tough and celebrate your successes with you.

But friends do a lot more than give you a shoulder to cry on; they also have a positive impact on your health. Some research even says friendships are just as important to your well-being as eating right and exercising.

So how do friendships contribute to your well-being?

Press Play for Advice On Making Friends

Hosted by Editor-in-Chief and therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast, featuring best-selling author Eric Barker, shares why friendship contributes to your overall well-being and how to build strong friendships. Click below to listen now.

Friends Are Good for Your Physical Health

It turns out that healthy relationships actually contribute to good physical health. Having a close circle of friends can decrease your risk of health problems like diabetes, heart attack, and stroke.

Having strong social ties can also decrease feelings of loneliness, which evidence shows can take a toll on your longevity. According to a 2010 review, people with strong relationships have half the risk of premature death from all causes.  

Social isolation and loneliness are linked to a variety of health issues such as high blood pressure, substance abuse, heart disease, and even cancer.

Friends Encourage Healthy Behaviors

One possible explanation for those health benefits is that friendships can help you make lifestyle changes that can have a direct impact on your well-being. For example, your friends can help you set and maintain goals to eat better and exercise more.   They can also watch out for you and give a heads-up when any unhealthy behaviors (like drinking too much) get out of hand.

Additionally, people are more motivated and likely to stick to a weight loss or exercise program when they do it with a buddy. It’s much easier to get out and stay active when you have a friend by your side.

That friend may also suggest activities that you would not have considered on your own—thus, pushing you outside your comfort zone to challenge your anxiety.

Friends Give You Emotional Support

If you find yourself going through a hard time, having a friend to help you through can make the transition easier.

Research also shows that happiness is contagious among friends. One study of high school students found that those who were depressed were twice as likely to recover if they had happy friends. Likewise, kids were half as likely to develop depression if their friends had a «healthy mood.»  

Friends Help Build Your Confidence

Everyone has self-doubts and insecurities every now and then. But having friends who support you plays a big role in building your self-esteem, or how much you appreciate and love yourself.

Supportive friends can help you feel more confident by offering praise and reassurance when you’re feeling unsure. They’ll shine a light on just how amazing you are and how much you have to offer others.

Friends Help You Beat Stress

Everyone goes through stressful events. If you know you have people you can count on, you may be less likely to even perceive a tough time as stressful.

Spending time with friends can also help reduce stress. According to Harvard Medical School, «social connections help relieve levels of stress, which can harm the heart’s arteries, gut function, insulin regulation, and the immune system.»

Friends can also help you cope with stressful situations. According to one small study, when children hang out with their friends during a stressful situation, they produce less cortisol, a hormone released when the body is under stress.

As the song goes: “We all need somebody to lean on.”

A lack of friends can leave you feeling lonely and without support, which makes you vulnerable to other problems such as depression and substance abuse.  

Friends Push You To Be Your Best

Friends can also provide a positive influence. If you make friends with people who are generous with their time, help others, or are ambitious or family-oriented, you are more likely to develop those values yourself.  

Great friends have the power to mold you into the best version of yourself. They see you and love you for who you truly are. They encourage you and push you to do better and be the person you want to be—your «ideal self.»

Yang YC, Boen C, Gerken K, Li T, Schorpp K, Harris KM. Social relationships and physiological determinants of longevity across the human life span. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016;113(3):578-583. doi:10.1073/pnas.1511085112

Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB. Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review. PLoS Med. 2010;7(7):e1000316. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316

Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Baker M, Harris T, Stephenson D. Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A meta-analytic review. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2015;10(2):227-237. doi:10.1177/1745691614568352

Craddock E, vanDellen MR, Novak SA, Ranby KW. Influence in relationships: A meta-analysis on health-related social control. Basic Appl Soc Psych. 2015;37(2):118-130. doi:10.1080/01973533.2015.1011271

Hill EM, Griffiths FE, House T. Spreading of healthy mood in adolescent social networks. Proc Biol Sci. 2015;282(1813):20151180. doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.1180

Houle J, Meunier S, Coulombe S, et al. Peer positive social control and men’s health-promoting behaviors. Am J Mens Health. 2017;11(5):1569-1579. doi:10.1177/1557988317711605

The health benefits of strong, long-lasting friendships and how to strengthen your connection with others

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Our friends play a large role in what we cherish, how we think, and ultimately who we become. Therefore, having healthy friendships that make us feel accepted and valued can have a large impact on our physical and mental wellbeing.

Yet, 61% of Americans report being lonely. Loneliness is a sign that we’re yearning for connection, says Lydia Denworth, author of Friendship. So, a small amount of loneliness is healthy because it encourages us to connect more with others, but an overwhelming level is detrimental to our health and is associated with depression, worsened sleep, and poorer cardiovascular function.

According to Shasta Nelson, who has been studying friendships for 12 years and author of Frientimacy, to overcome loneliness and develop strong relationships, we should focus on positivity, consistency, and vulnerability.

Developing strong friendships founded on those values takes time and effort, but those relationships are essential to our health. It is important then, to reflect on why the friendships in our lives are so important, and what we can do to strengthen them.

Why are friendships important?

According to Denworth, friends are just as important for our mental and physical wellbeing as proper diet and exercise. In fact, one 2010 study found that those with strong social relationships had a 50% decreased risk of death for the elderly indicating that strong friendships increase longevity.

Marisa G. Franco, PhD, a psychologist who has done extensive research on the science of cultivating strong friendships, adds that strong social connections can help prevent depression and psychosis, and help relieve trauma. Here are some other ways friendship are important:

Friendships can lead to a happier life: One 2002 study that compared traits of very happy people against moderately or unhappy people found that the happiest people also tended to be the ones that were highly social and reported having strong social relationships.

Nelson agrees, adding that friends are the number one contributing factor to our happiness. An estimated 70% of our happiness comes down to our relationships so it’s nearly impossible to be happy without healthy friendships, Franco says.

Friendships can help you through tough times: Whether through listening to us, reassuring us, or just being a shoulder to lean on, friends can be a great source of support during difficult times.

A 2007 study examined the role of friendships as students transitioned to college — an opportunity for more independence but also a period at which they are at a greater risk for social isolation. The study concluded that having friends gave individuals a greater sense of belongingness.

Another 2016 study found that long-lasting friendships that were formed during childhood, «can help craft meaning and strength amid substantial adversity.»

Friendships can help you feel more confident: A 2019 study found that having close friends boosts our self-esteem, and vice versa. In particular, the friendships we develop in childhood and maintain as we grow older help boost our self-esteem and build our confidence because of the sense of connection that comes from long-lasting relationships that stood the test of time and overcame minor conflicts. In other words, experiencing and overcoming conflicts with each other may help us gain confidence in our ability to overcome future conflicts with others.

Studies have shown that building strong friendships involves brain structures that are located close to parts of the brain involved with scanning — for example, like scanning facial expressions — and those involved with both planning and regulating our impulsivity. Perhaps because our ability to control our feelings and plan for the future are among the qualities that enable a friendship to deepen.

Friendships help combat loneliness: As Denworth explains, loneliness can make you feel less inclined to be social — thus trapping us in a cycle of feeling more lonely and as a result further isolating ourselves.

This is likely because depression and isolation are associated with disrupted sleep patterns and reduced focus. In other words, our higher-order reasoning skills — the very abilities that make us human and capable of empathy — are compromised when we feel isolated or depressed.

But a 2005 study, which examined the psychological effects of enrichment programs for older women, found that social connection relieved loneliness. After all, a nurturing friend may be just the antidote.

How to strengthen friendships?

According to Nelson, in order to determine the strength of our relationships, and make them stronger, we need to focus on three things:

If you have some relationships you’d like to strengthen, Nelson recommends starting with a post-it note and writing down the names of those you don’t want to drift away from.

Focus on developing deep relationships with just a few people instead of casting a wide net. And prioritize spending time with those people: schedule a fun activity with them every week that you both can look forward to, and let the post-it note serve as a reminder to send them a quick text or check up on them.

«We often believe that we just need to look for friends, but friends aren’t found, they’re made,» says Nelson.

Insider’s takeaway

Friendships play an integral role in your mental and physical wellbeing. Sometimes it’s easy to prioritize family, romance, and work over friendships. However, if you’re willing to be vulnerable and consistently work on strengthening your friendships, you can lead a happier and healthier life.

The Importance of Friendship in our Lives [15 Reasons]

Friendship actually doesn’t fit into any definition. It’s a relationship that cannot be described with words.

Friends are those who make you feel good about yourself, who will laugh at the most embarrassing moment of your life to make you feel lighter. They are the ones who will be there for you during happiness and at times when you need them most.

When the world turns back at you they will be there right by your side. The importance of friendship in our life is beyond any description.

The basic foundation of every relationship is friendship. Whether it’s a relationship with your spouse, children, coworker, or your neighbor, the friendship will form the base of the relationship. Without friends, life would be dull and meaningless.

Here are 15 reasons why friendship is so important.

Table of Contents

1. Supports us in bad times

Everybody goes through some difficult phases in life. During those times you need a shoulder to cry on. Friends can give exactly that. They will be there to listen to your nonsense talks and still acknowledge whatever you are saying to lighten your heart.

They will be there to give you advice on how to pull through the difficult time you are passing. They will show you the kindness that you need when you are in trouble. They are the ones who understand you and no matter what the situation is will give you positive energy.

2. Improves the quality of life

Just imagine how life would be without friends. There will be no one to cheer with you for your favorite team, you won’t have anyone to hang out with when you have nothing to do. They make our boring days full of fun.

Overall, they add meaning to your life. With friends, you laugh out loud which makes you energetic and healthy. It can help you to overcome depression and so helps in improving your mental health as well.

3. Keeps us active

Friends will be up to anything at any time. They can take you on an adventure ride or to someplace that’s beautiful. When you don’t have any friends, you will probably spend time alone in the house playing video games or watching TV. But with friends, you are likely to go out and play or visit clubs and other places.

Friends will always keep you on your toes and so you will be active all day. This will help you to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

4. Share secrets

We all have some dark secrets in life and friends are like secret banks where your secrets are absolutely safe. You can talk about your silly mistakes, family problems, etc. with your friends. You can simply pour your heart out with your friends.

5. Boosts self-confidence

Sometimes we are in doubt about our abilities and decisions. But friends will never doubt you. They will be there to encourage you to move forward in life. No matter how difficult a task may be to achieve, they will push you to overcome all the obstacles and accomplish that task.

They will help to make your dreams and goals come true by cheering you from the sidelines. They believe in you and that’s the most important driving force you need to go ahead in life.

6. Comfort zone

You can be by yourself when you are with your friends. Whether you are in pajamas, drooling face, or without makeup, they simply don’t care. They love you just the way you are. They have seen you in the ugliest appearances and worst situations in life. They know you inside out.

They know your weaknesses, flaws, dark past, everything and still, they are by your side. There is no need to pretend in front of them. So, you are in your comfort zone when you are with your friends.

7. Reality check

Friends have the ability to predict situations that we can’t. For example, they will know if your boyfriend or girlfriend is cheating on you; or they will tell you whether your outfit looks good or outrageous.

They will bring the harsh truth in front of you without making you feel down. Friends will always bring you back to reality when you are roaming around the 7th heaven.

8. Unconditional love

Our family loves us because we share blood. But friends love us without any such condition. They give us unconditional love without expecting anything in return. Whenever you need them they will be beside you no matter what the situation is. They will be always there to support you.

You will only get this type of love from your family. We share the most amazing relationship with our friends and the times spent with them become the most memorable ones in our lives.

9. Lots of fun

You will never hear the most hilarious jokes unless you are with your friends. Gossiping about others, talking about the new movie or song releases, going to concerts and clubs, all these happen when you are with your friends. Those long hours of gossiping over the phone or in-person will enlighten your heart forever. Being with friends is an instant mood booster. We spend the most joyous and exciting times of our lives with friends.

10. Makes relationships stronger

A long-term relationship will only work if there is friendship. If there is no friendship there won’t be the trust, love, and support that you need. So, friendship is actually the core of every relationship.

11. Mental Growth

Friendships help the mind blossom into a healthy garden and protect it from withering away. Friends help you overcome gloomy thoughts of your mind. They help you focus on important things in life. They can refresh your thoughts with humor and fun activities.

Friendship trains your mind to leave negative thoughts behind. Negative thoughts can infest your mind. They eat away the happiness of a person. It becomes hard for the person to focus on positive things in life. Friends are one of the best cures for this problem. Friends can pull you out of bad mental situations. They help us see things with more clarity. They show us the brighter side of our problems. By focusing on the positive side, one can overcome these problems. When you are alone, it is not possible to face your problems alone, all the time.

We need someone to share our problems with. Someone who can hear your problems without judging you. Friends try their level best to help you beat ill thoughts and move toward a more positive approach to life. Friendships help your mental health from getting destroyed and disturbed. Friends are the gardeners of a person’s mentality.

12. Stress Control

Having friends can be stress relieving. Friends get your mind to get off the boring routines or the stressful problems in your life. They are there when your life seems a mess. Friends make you see your mistakes in a constructive way. You can improve your ways of doing things.

Friends know how to make you realize your faults. They do not make you ashamed or embarrassed in front of other people. They mend our ways and bring out the best versions of ourselves.

When you are stuck in the grinding routines of academic classes or work at the office, friends are there to make you feel better. Friendships help you release your stress from such monotonous routines. Friends engage in meaningful conversations with you. While living one’s life, there are many times when one needs guidance and advice.

At times, we act stubborn or inclined toward doing things without thinking through. The mind goes blind during that time and does not think of consequences. Friends are there to talk sense to you so you can see the error of your ways. They prevent us from making mistakes which we might regret later in our life. These mistakes might also cause harm to other people, as well as the person himself.

13. Physical Growth

Not only mental, but physical health is also improved along with friends. As friends participate in different physical activities, they convince you to participate too. Sports and games help you gain a healthy and sound body. Playing sports increases the capacity of both the mind and the body. Playing with friends becomes even more healthy, as they teach you along. If you can’t do a certain thing, they will help you achieve that through different techniques.

Friends do not mock you for your physical health or appearance. They try to improve you along with themselves. They invest time and effort in you to make you a better person.

Both physical and mental health are complements for each other. A person who is mentally healthy will be more inclined to physical activities. Hence, it will make his physique better.

The involvement of friends boosts both, mental and physical health. Friends keep your spirits high during sports. They congratulate you when you win and encourage you to try harder when you fail. They do not make you feel weak or incompetent. Acknowledgment from friends builds confidence in an individual. This confidence helps that person break out of an unhealthy routine. The individual tends to indulge himself in more fruitful and healthy activities.

14. Social Improvement

Friends are good for Social company. As people move into society, it would not be possible for people to completely alone. People need company and friends are the best company one can have. Friends are considerate towards what you like and dislike. Friends help you become more socially active and smart. By staying with good friends, one learns manners and attitude one should have in social gatherings.

Some people can make you socially anxious and insecure. One needs to learn how to deal with such situations and people. Friends prove to be of great value in such scenarios. They try to prevent such situations from occurring. If somehow, these situations do occur, they stick up for you. Gradually, the individual becomes adept at the skill of interaction and communication.

15. Giving the ‘Push’

Friends are one of the valuable assets of life. Friendship helps you build one another and can aid you in overcoming your fears and achieving the goals of your life. Many times, in life, there are some fears that stop people from striving for what they desire. Friends push you out of your comfort zone so you can learn new things. They make you realize that the fear is only a voice in our head. This voice keeps feeding negativity to the mind. This negativity creates barriers in way of healthy thinking.

Overcoming fear makes it easier to do things. Like if you want to do a certain task. Friends will help you by teaching and making you understand that it is not hard to do. They will appreciate your effort, even when you feel like quitting. At times, they will add humor to the situation, to make you feel less discouraged at your failures. They will keep you at it and after some time you will get better at that thing. Without friends, it would be very difficult. Friends make achieving your goals easier.

Friendship fills your life with meaning

A person who stays lonely and does not have friends will find it hard to live with people. They have trouble in determining what to do. Friendships add purpose to life, as friends encourage you to achieve things that you want. They help you move through life with a more determined and focused approach. Good friends are hard to find, one must invest time and effort into people in making friends.

Friends stick with you through the harsh and worst times of your life. When one feels completely lost and broken, friends come to aid. Friends see through your smiles and know when you are hurt. They know you better than other people. Not everyone understands the intent and purpose of your action and words. Friends respect your ideas and thoughts.

We, as humans, have the desire to be understood. Friends fulfill this desire and help you contain your mind and thoughts. They understand and know about what you really are. As it rightly said, ‘One of the most beautiful qualities of friendship is to understand and to be understood.’

As the saying goes, “Anything is possible if you have the right people beside you”. It means when you have good friends in your life, the goals of your life become easier to achieve. Friends are an important part of one’s life, as they are there for you in your problems and hard times. Life without friends, will not be an easy one.

Final Thoughts

Unless you are suffering from social anxiety disorder (SAD), there is no reason why you shouldn’t have friends. Only people with this syndrome tend to avoid friendships altogether.

The reasons just mentioned here are enough to understand the importance of friendship. You shouldn’t miss the chance of making new friends. You should always appreciate the love and care they give you.

After school and college days you will be heading in different directions in life. But if your friendship is strong then you will always find them beside you when you need them even after years of separation. Friends are someone who is not related to you by blood, but sometimes they are closer to you than your own relatives.

Friendship: How Important is our Need to Connect?

One of the first chapter books I remember reading was Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. The value of a true friend was etched in my mind as I witness the friendship between Charlotte and Wilbur developed. The love and sacrifice between these two characters taught me about the importance of our need to connect.

Why did you do all this for me?” Wilber asked. “I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.”

“You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing.”

Friendship is a tremendous thing. I see it all over social media – the need for friends. Some voice it as loneliness while others try to compensate by putting up a facade — but the truth remains — we all need friends.

The Science of Friendship

Scientific studies reinforce what our gut already knows to be true — friendship improves our overall sense of well being and protects us from the hardships of life. Social isolation and loneliness increase our chances of premature death. Lack of a strong social connection is proving to have more effect on our health than smoking. DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND! I am in no way endorsing the use of cigarettes, but this crazy bit of data goes to prove how important human connection is to our health.

Physically connecting with other people alters our cortisol or stress hormone levels, helps us maintain healthy eating and exercise routines while curbing negative behaviors like too much TV.” – Dr. Nasreen Khatri

When our children were younger, we always stressed the importance of choosing good friends. These research studies add a whole new dimension as to why good friends are so important.

Lessons in Friendship

Long before I ever set foot in school, before I had any idea of what I wanted in a friend − I got the default. I played with who my mom paired me up with. Sometimes it was the daughter of my mom’s friend, but more often it ended up being one of the neighbor kids. I learned important skills like sharing my toys and playing nice, but the idea of choosing who I spent my time with seemed a little foreign.

In elementary school my education went beyond the academic, I learned there were different kinds of friends. Some were more amiable than others and I felt a gravitational pull to friends I had common bonds with.

Before we knew it I was dealing with the social scene, drama, and constant comparison of high school. True, there are a few great memories, but I most associate those years with a sense of inadequacy and comparison. My insecurities were at an all-time high. I felt surrounded by girls who were backbiting and bitter instead of offering the type of friendship I needed most. Those years taught me my insecurities were valid and appearance was everything. I built walls to protect my vulnerabilities because one thing was certain: being vulnerable was a sign of weakness.

Learning from Fear and Vulnerability

Time passed and I matured with marriage and motherhood. At some point, I realized I was different from the girl in high school. Maybe it was more of a discovery of who I was. I had taken off my mask and distanced myself from superficial friends. I chose to surround myself with people who could be real without competition or comparison.

Our willingness to own and engage with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose.” – Brené Brown

I naturally feared being judged, compared, and rejected. I was afraid of appearing vulnerable. Sharing our most insecure thoughts and feelings is one of the hardest things to do, yet it is what makes real and genuine connections.

While I have had some truly connected friendships, I’ve also had my share of painful ones. Pain is a natural builder of walls. We build them to protect us from future pain. The problem is, they also keep us from experiencing the joy of those rare friendships.

Too often we skirt around sharing our vulnerabilities, determined to maintain the facade of perfection. All the while, yearning for real, deep friendship – someone with whom we can share our burdens.

We choose our friends because of who they are, we love them because of how they support who we are.”

Sharing our “truths” with each other creates a bond. While it can be refreshing and freeing, real genuine connections are not always easy to develop. I still run into a woman here and there who stirs up all the old feelings of inadequacy from high school. I’ve had to learn to let the emotions go and accept this person isn’t ready for real yet. I don’t need to compete with the insecurities or allow myself to be offended. We aren’t all on the same journey to discovery, and that’s okay.

Friends are Blessings from God

I truly believe God sends friends into our life so we can connect, relate, and grow. Sometimes it is a friend who knows the best way to help you celebrate a win as well as a loss.

For years I struggled with the grief of a wandering child. It was a burden I dared not share because of my fear of how it would reflect on me as a parent. It was such a welcome relief to finally unload my pain with some dear friends who didn’t judge but encouraged and loved me through my trial.

God sends people into our lives to take care of us, to meet our needs. As women, we crave connection with other people. It is a part of the way God hardwired our DNA. He wants us to walk with each other in life, encourage one another and share in the burdens we carry.

Takeaways

Being physically present with another human being offers irreplaceable benefits. Our need to connect reaches beyond the basics of being nice. Real friendship is asking the hard questions, sharing the fear and pain of our struggles, and rejoicing in our successes.

When we do the hard, intimate work of friendship, we bring a little more of the divine into daily life.

Don’t choose perfection and loneliness. Choose to share the real you — your highs and lows. Glean the amazing blessing of a real connected friendship. How you decide to live your life is your choice. Be the kind of friend you are hoping for.