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"There are friends, there are family, and there are friends that become family" -Unknown
I don't have the best relationship with my family, so I count on my friends to fill my social needs. I have a few friends who have supplied the love and support I need on my darkest moments, and can never repay them for the countless times they saved me :)

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Introduction for My Beliefs in Friendships:

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Introduction for My Beliefs in Friendships:

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I believe that I am an individual who holds reciprocal and communal friendships. I value the idea of having loyalty and commitment within both parties of the relationship. Although I like to have fun with others and like to not worry about serious situations all the time.

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The people that are close in my life support my dreams and ambitions that I have. They value my social identity as a caring, outgoing individual who wants to spread positivity as I help others. They support my goal of working in healthcare as well as helping me grow along the way.

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Friendships help me maintain the social interaction aspect of my life, and help me maintain my mental health. I feel happier when I am surrounded by others as my social circle is expanding.

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I have many different groups of friends, and all of them have different purposes.
Work/School Friends: There are individuals I became friends with due to our schedules lining up. Since we spends hours together in these social gatherings, we become close with one another.
Distant Friends Versus Close Friends: Although both of these friendships are with people I value and support, there is a minor difference between the two. a regular friendship for me are individuals that I am able to text and hang out with once a month to catch up with and support each-other from a distance. My best-friends are people that I see on a weekly basis and I talk to on a daily basis.

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I value friendships with people who value my feelings and take time to support me. I am the kind of person who always goes above and beyond for any individual who enters my life so I expect others to do the same for me. If not, I feel betrayed and don't put as much effort into the friendships. The gender of friendship does not effect me as there are no sexual ties with these men.

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I am the kind of person that will love and cherish an individual no matter how busy they become. The only rule I ask out of my friendships is that they communicate with me and will make time for me when they have time to fit me in their schedules. I know that I have an extremely busy schedule and I have to put my social life on hold from time-to-time. Since my friends are able to respect and be understanding of those boundaries of mine, I respect and understand their boundaries as well.

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COMMUNICATION & BOUNDARIES! The golden rule between all my friends and I is communication and respecting boundaries. If there is an issue, we all agreed to step away from the situation until our emotions are calmed, and then we will openly talk about any arising issues that have occurred. If any of us need space, we will openly state that we need to step away for a bit of time, and there doesn't need to be an explanation until the individual feels like speaking up :) trust is key in any relationship so you have to trust that your friends will openly communicate about their wants and needs!

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Challenges that Friends and I have faced

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Challenges that Friends and I have faced

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The biggest issues I cross with friendships, or any relationship, is miscommunication. When I was younger, there was always little arguments with my grade school friends because I felt as if there was always a competition as to "who was better" and fighting to be the most popular individual. Once I matured a bit and came to terms with how important communication is, I learned to keep the individuals in my life who also value communication. By communicating, it allows all people in the friend-group to identify what is important to each individual and be able to respect everyone as their own being.

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Dare and I forming a Romantic Relationship after having a Friendship

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The biggest reward to gain from friendships is gathering a sense of belonging and love. By gaining a sense of belonging, it allows your mental health to grow and flourish with positivity since you have people to rely on. Friendships are the perfect way to create bonds with others and to allow love to form. My personal experience allowed me to form a romantic relationship with one of my close friends. One of my best-friends, Dare, was my friend for multiple months. We hung out as much as we could, gained great communication skills, and learned how to respect each others boundaries. We learned how to let one another flourish independently, and to come together as one when the timing was right.