Friendship is like herpes...it's forever.

Sometimes I wonder what people think of me. Don’t get me wrong—I long ago stopped giving a damn about people’s opinion, I’m just curious about the impression that I leave with others. I like to imagine myself an outgoing, passionate, funny person, but I know that others might interpret those qualities as being loud, pushy, and obnoxious. My sensitivity may come across as moodiness and my…. oh, let’s just call me a whack-job and be done with it.

But my point is this: no matter what my flaws, I’ve managed to surround myself with a group of friends gracious enough to overlook them. They welcome my contributions and forgive my transgressions. Their only request of me is that I be the best and happiest version of myself possible. And in return, I only have to offer the same consideration. In order to have a friend, I have to be a friend. I have to be just as slow to anger, and just as quick to forgive. Fortunately I’ve had good examples to follow.

There’s my friend, Ashley, who used her connections (not to mention talking a big game about me) to get me a job when things were looking a bit bleak on the employment front. There’s also Lauren, who realized I was having a bad (horrible) night at work and pulled me aside. She made me repeat some nonsense phrase until I started laughing and the proverbial clouds were broken. There are the friends that got me cleaned up and kept me from getting bounced when I threw up in a bar on my birthday. I should especially mention my friend John, who wound up with some of my dinner on his right boot. My bad. There are also the people who’ve gotten out of warm beds to come pick me up after I was “over-served” (yet again, at a bar) while downtown. Speaking of rides, I’ve been picked up from schools, jobs, gyms, detention centers (I’d rather not get into that one), and morning-after walks of shame. And each time, it was made perfectly clear that the friend was offering the service because we were friends, not because anything was expected in return.

The best thing I can do is be that kind of friend to others. I need to be just as generous with my time and talents. I need to be just as open with my own heart as my friends have been with theirs. I’ve been blessed with great friends, and the best way I can repay that is by being a great one myself.