Most people have this notion that a best friend must be someone you’ve known since the day you were born, or at least, someone you’ve spent most of your life with. You braved through kindergarten together, had each other’s backs through middle school, enjoyed high school together, and lived college life as a pair. Essentially, best friends are commonly regarded as people who have shared most of your life with you. While this is what we are used to, it’s not the only criterion for tagging someone your best friend.
As an adult, I could meet someone and in one month, I’d decide they are better and closer to me than every friend I’ve ever had. A best friend is someone who knows you as well as you know yourself – that person you can easily explode your heart to and they’d catch every single piece with their own hearts. A best friend is an integral part of your life as much as you are a stakeholder in theirs. That person who would go to the ends of the earth for you, and do it again the next day if they had to.
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You can have more than one best friend
Also, you can have more than one best friend. True friendship is extremely hard to come by, made worse by the present dynamics of our “social media world”. If you’re lucky to have one or two persons whose minds and souls are in sync with yours, you better hold onto them. While there may be plenty of people in your life who love and support you, below are 7 things you can only experience with a best friend:
Your home is their home… and vice versa
If you had a best friend while growing up, you most likely spent most of your time in each other’s places. A best friend is that person who walks in without knocking and your parents act like they are part of the family. As grown-ups, you can waltz into each other’s homes at any time and there’s no qualms whatsoever. When you have a best friend who lives close to you, you simply have two homes in one city.
You can tell best friends anything
We are often more comfortable sharing secrets with our best friends than with blood siblings or parents. There’s no embarrassment or judgment between besties. They listen intently and immerse themselves into your stories, as though they were living your reality. It’s amazing to have someone who understands you so well that you can tell them anything at any time of the day and they’d still come through for you. Even when they can’t do anything to help, just having someone listen and sort through ideas with you is more than enough.
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Best friends can never judge or shame you
A best friend is that person who you can totally be yourself around. There’d be no need for false faces or pretense – they know you inside out. Having a supportive best friend can boost your confidence and self-esteem because they’d judge or shame you over anything. They help you work through your insecurities and any negative emotions by just being who they are.
You share each other’s belongings
One of the perks of having a best friend is that you get a non-biological twin. It’s even better when you’re both around the same age and can share each other’s stuff. I basically have two wardrobes: mine and my best friend’s. We wear each other’s clothes and accessories without question, and it’s one of those special little things to be grateful for.
They never get tired of your silly questions
No matter how impatient they try to act, a true best friend would never crucify you for asking stupid questions all the time. Especially during movies, I always come up with the silliest and most annoying questions about meaningless stuff, and while she occasionally thwacks me upside the head, my best friend never gets tired of coming through with her witty answers.
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Best friends will tell you the bitter truth
Your best friend is the only person who can tell you that you have an odor or a stinky breath. Outside your family, no one else will want to make the embarrassing move. While your best friend never intends to hurt your feelings, they occasionally have to tell you the bitter truth or constructively criticize you. We all need at least one person in our lives who wouldn’t sugarcoat facts to protect our fragile feelings. It’s never in your best interest to be “protected” from the truth.
Call them up at any hour of the day, and your best friends will be there to listen
No matter how exhausted I am from a long day, nothing will ever stop me from answering my best friend’s endlessly needy calls. Even when I’m turning down everyone else’s calls, I always take hers because, at the sight of her name, my heart always lights up in joy. Despite knowing I’d have to listen to an hour’s worth of our usual nagging, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that my best friend needs me and heck, I’m going to be right there. Best friends are golden and we all need them to have a smooth ride through life.
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