The Value of Friendship

My freshmen year of high school, I was starting over with a clean slate. I had attended public school up until then and was beginning high school at a private, Catholic school where I knew no one and everyone else seemed to know each other, having gone to school together since kindergarten. This was a little daunting at first, not knowing a soul and everyone else already buddies, but it didn’t take much time before I’d made awesome friends. Friends that I still talk to today and some that I don’t – or haven’t in a really long time. Today though, I spent some time with one of those awesome friends - one that I haven’t seen in over ten years - and it made me think about the value of friendship.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that friendship is one of the things that I value and treasure most in the world. I try to be the best possible friend that I can be. I don’t always succeed, but I try, because friends to me are one of the most important things in life.

They say that people come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. I think that sometimes it’s a little bit more complicated than that, but I definitely think there is something to that saying. As we get older, we change, whether we want to admit that or not. And sometimes our friends change with us and our friendships become stronger because of it. And sometimes we change and our friends don’t and people start to grow apart, not on purpose or by choice, but because that’s the way life is.

There are many moments in my life that I would love to freeze and live in forever, moments that I loved mostly because of my friends and where we were at that time in our lives. But obviously it’s not possible. Just like it’s not possible to choose how our friendships are going to evolve over time. I’ve had friendships that I thought would last forever – that we would always be in each other’s lives – and while some have, others haven’t. It’s taken me until recently to realize that it’s not my fault or their fault necessarily. It’s life’s fault. Life happens and changes us and sets us on different courses.

What’s great is that sometimes those courses veer off in different directions for a long time and then converge again later on down the road. Seeing my friend today made me think of this and the saying about a reason, a season and a lifetime. I don’t think you can ever know if a friendship is going to fall into one of these categories and I don’t think you should try to figure it out. Then you’d be missing out on the joy that each friendship brings.

The moral of the story: Go give your friends a hug and tell them you love them! 

And to all my friends out there: Thanks for bearing with me all these years and loving me for me! You know I love you all!

Another new start...

In an effort to keep my life as far from boring as possible, I have begun a new business venture as an independent consultant for Rodan + Fields, the doctors who created Proactiv. I’m beyond excited but also extremely nervous. I never imagined that I would be doing anything like this in my life but I am absolutely loving the challenge that I’ve given myself. I now have the opportunity to take control of my future instead of waiting for someone to finally call me and give me an interview, let alone a job!

I was very hesitant to start something like this because I often times doubt my abilities. But, I saw this as an opportunity not only for me to make some money, but to show myself that I am much more capable of accomplishing things then I give myself credit for. And most importantly, I am responsible for my own success. What I put into this new venture is what I will get out of it and there is no one else that I’m accountable to other than myself. Which makes it both scary and empowering all at the same time.

As many of you know, I have been looking for an opportunity in the non-profit field since getting my Master’s in Non-Profit management, but with how wonderfully the economy is doing in Michigan, my career options have not been exactly plentiful. Oh, who am I kidding? They’ve been non-existent. Now though, I feel that I’m getting to use my love for helping other people into my career by helping people to feel better about themselves and how they look through improving their skin.

While this may not seem to some as valid as say, helping feed the homeless, for me, it is an important service. Personally, I’ve gone through in my life of feeling a lack of confidence because of how I look. So, whenever you can help someone feel better about themselves and more comfortable in their skin, I think you’ve done a really wonderful thing. My thoughts about nonprofit have always been that if I can just get out there and help one person, I’ll be happy. And I feel the same way about this new endeavor, only I hope that I can help more people feel as good about themselves as I feel about myself now.