Friends

We discover our very first friends at an early age through the first interactions that we have with other people. These are likely not going to become our best friends (unless you find the rare one/s) or you may never encounter them again. Regardless, they will make an impression. We underestimate the influence that people, let alone, friends have on us and our lives. The people that we meet and the friends that we gain play a great role in shaping who we become; our likes and loves, dislikes and hates, what we tolerate and what we simply cannot put up with.

Our friends can build us or break us. Take a moment to briefly look upon the past and the present, who were the people who immediately stood out to you? Those are the individuals that have impacted or are still to impact you somehow, it may be a positive influence and it may be a negative. We are meant to meet these people, they are strategically placed in our paths to teach us aspects about life. egardless of what they represent to you, they have been a part of what’s moulded you into the brave, beautiful human being that you are today.

School is the next significant thing that places certain people in our lives and helps form all kinds of friendships. School, for me, is a difficult topic to speak about but is one aspect that has triggered my reflection because of the choice that I made. When I was fifteen, I decided to move to a different high school and from this, I gained an absolutely incredible group of friends that soon became my sisters.

Together, we all grew from girls into women and because of this, I am who I am today, partly, because of them. I didn’t think that I would ever be so fortunate to come across a group of women that strongly stand together and so freely build each other up, giving all their support to each other through absolutely everything. I’m so proud and thankful to say that this group of ours is still so strong, even though we all live in different provinces and we barely see each other (the memes and banter keep us alive, if I’m honest). I love you all too much!

When I arrived in Cape Town, once I had settled in and had nothing more to busy myself with, the fact that I really knew no one started to sink in. All who I was familiar with were my family that lived here and I could count how many times I had met them on one hand. It was refreshing but I had to start from scratch, I was the “new girl”. This was an exciting and terrifying position that I had voluntarily put myself in so I’m not complaining, I just realised that I really took my friends for granted. I went from so much comfort and social security, knowing at least one person in the room at all times, to feeling like a complete stranger.

If you take anything from this, love and appreciate your dear friends, they are so important. Do not go to sleep without resolving any issues. Don’t let a boy or girl come in between your bond and don’t be too proud to initiate an apology. Text that friend you’ve been meaning to and make a plan to see them, you may be pleasantly surprised as you may pick up from where you left off. Take the risk, I guarantee the reward will be worth it!

PS. Just in case you were wondering, I'm no longer all alone, haha! I have met a really amazing crowd of people that I hold very close to my heart - thank you as well, you mean more to me than you could ever know.