Friendships are invaluable. You can’t buy them at the store, instead a great friendship starts off by chance and then grows over time. I am fortunate to call a lot of great people friends. Here are some of the best things about great friendships that I have observed:
- Shared Interests- Sports, school, being social, shopping, a mutual acquaintance. This is the seed for every friendship. It makes that thing you love doing even better because you get to do it with someone else who loves it like you do.
- Support- There will be challenges in life and you can always count on your friends to support you through them. I remember finals being stressful at Northeastern, but getting the study support from my great friends Tricia, Vanessa, Melissa, Cisco, Jamie, and Jess helped get me through it. Even becoming a parent can be a challenge and it’s hugely helpful to be able to chat with all my incredible parent friends for support in the parenthood trenches.
- Motivation- When I was knocking on doors selling stuff after college there was this hot shot sales guy who pushed me everyday. When I wanted to quit, Josh told me no and pushed me. That friendship with Josh single handedly motivated me through that period of my life.
- Laughs- You really need to enjoy the good times and there few things better than laughing with friends. They’ve been there for the bad times, so they know how a good laugh is like medicine. For instance laughing with all my friends through the great homeschooling experiment of 2020.
- Appreciation- No one appreciates the highs of life better than that group friends that saw the struggle. When my college soccer team at Northeastern made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in the programs history, that group of brothers appreciated every ounce of that success.
- They Become Family- As friendships last the test of time, they grow with your life. My kids love their biological uncles and aunts, but they also love when Uncle Alex sends a birthday video or when Uncle Tyler helps unpack their house or when Uncle Igor FaceTimes with their cousin Rafael, or when Uncle Bryan lays out a 10 course meal when we’re in NJ.
Great friendships are one ingredient to the secret sauce of a balanced life.
LeRoy J. Watkins III 