I have always been very sentimental and close to my friends. They always matter to me. I once told this best friend of mine when my time is up in this world, I want you to be the one to speak in my eulogy because you’re the one who really knows me to the core- justify me. This is not an unusual occurrence, there are so many people out there when asked who knows them more- they are going to tell you, it’s their best friend; not their mom, not their dad, not their siblings, and not even their spouse.

I can only count these few good people with my one hand but the duration of that friendship is not less than a decade. I have this one best friend and we have been friends since grade school, we have been with each other since our first menses to our first babies. We are each other’s human diary- we laughed and giggled when we had our first boyfriend and shared experiences when we had our first sexual experience. We are each other’s catharsis when we had our heart’s broken for the first time and up until now- in spite of the distance, we are still each other’s catharsis.

Now that we are miles apart, nothing has changed. Though we see each other three to four times a year but the fondness and enthusiasm of being together is never gone. There’s this also one best friend of mine, who has been with me for almost a decade already. I consider him not just a close friend alone but a family. He is one person my parents trust. We make it a point to have at least a monthly, or if we’re not too busy a weekly, bonding moment. Having one of our bonding moments is like recharging our emotional and mental batteries.

We energize each other and we make each other feel better no matter how "shitty" things get in life. This is one aspect of my life that I’m really thankful for- having true and real people around, one that I can trust and rely on. What exactly makes friendship stand the test of time? To have a best friend, you have to be one. There’s this saying that I live by and it helped me a lot in dealing with people. It’s something about being prejudice. If you are a prejudice person, you deprive your self of true happiness and beauty in life.

So, it goes without saying that to have good friends you need to have an open mind and don’t be judgmental. Take each person as he is, respect the individuality and your differences- it is the one of the things that makes friendship colorful and meaningful. This is a vital facet of friendship - respecting each other’s individuality. This is why I said and some people also say that, it is their best friend who knows them better than anybody else because true friends allow each other to be themselves without judging or being ridiculed upon. As a matter of fact, being with true friends is a place where you can totally go crazy without being denounced or criticized.

A best friend will never lie to you no matter how much it will hurt you- a best friend is also your gauge factor, they will remind you that you are of your limits and you are being irrational or selfish. One point that your best friend is a good influence is even your parents approve of him or her. In life, we get to encounter different kinds of people and obstacles and in order not to get lost along the way, it is important that we know what matters- family and friends.