Hello All!
I decided to switch up the layout of my post this time! I found some quotes about intentional friendships that I feel are very applicable to my own, so I have the quotes listed. Underneath the quotes, I explain how my friendships relate to them. I believe it is important to recognize that there is a difference between acquaintances, friends, and intentional friends. Therefore, these quotes are about true friendships, and I hope you are able to reflect on which relationships in your life are meaningful and intentional with what I found and feel called to share!
“A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.” ~Unknown
When I read this quote, I recognized that this quote is reciprocal. It has not only been demonstrated towards myself by my closest friends but also by myself towards them. Life can be challenging with school, work, family, significant others, friends, spiritual life, and health. We place immense pressure upon ourselves to be successful in all we do, and our familial backgrounds and past experiences influence our current and futuristic perceptions of ourselves. When I reflect upon myself, I conclude that I am a perfectionist; therefore, I implement high expectations for myself in all I do and struggle to “cut myself some slack”. This is not always ideal because I quickly become overwhelmed and anxious if something unexpected occurs. Some people become annoyed with “perfectionist” individuals; however, my friends do not. Instead, they understand why I am the way I am from my personal background and past experiences, accept myself as I am, and believe in my ability to accomplish what I aspire towards. Additionally, they challenge my “perfectionist” character by confronting me when I am being too hard on myself and need to adjust my mindset. In other words, despite understanding my background, accepting me for who I am, and believing in my capabilities, they challenge me in positive growth as an individual.
Now, considering how I have demonstrated this towards my friends, it is quite similar to how my friends have demonstrated it towards me. Each person is unique, and past experiences and life backgrounds influence the individual one is today. The past of someone may be joyful and successful, but it also may be filled with hurt, sorrow, and challenges. This is why it is necessary to take time, as friends, to pursue one another so that we can understand each other to the greatest extent. It is with pursuit that meaningful and supportive friendships are established. With my friends today, I am continuing to learn who they are as individuals, and I love and accept them for who they are. This includes their personal faults. It is with this understanding and care I have for them that I believe in who they aspire to become.
“Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Currently, I am recognizing the reality of this quote more and more. From my transition out of high school and into college, I have not maintained several friendships that I established back at home. Now, I am not saying that I do not care about the friendships I had throughout my childhood. Instead, as senior year of high school came to a close, I began to analyze the intentions of myself and of my peers within some of the friendships. I began to question the dynamics of those friendships and they have helped me grow as an individual. Friendships with significant variances in morals and virtues were not ones that I was interested in maintaining, even if I did enjoy the times I spent with those individuals. So, I began college with connections to one friend from back home, my best friend. At college I met numerous amounts of new peers that I assumed I would become close friends with. Instead, some of the friendships I thought would grow and become more intentional actually haven’t. Learning the hearts of my peers in college, I discovered two that I connect with, relate with, and enjoy the most. Therefore, as the quote above says, many friends are going to come in and out of your life. However, those who pursue you and their friendship with you as well as encourage you in your personal growth will “leave footprints in your heart.”
“True friends are never apart. Maybe in distance but never in heart.” ~Unknown
This quote pertains to one of my friendships, and this is my best friend back home. My friend and I met the summer before our junior year of high school. Crazy enough, the reason for our initial connection was through personal injuries. I had gone through extensive surgery and recovery on my feet a few years prior, and that summer she had to go through similar extensiveness with an ACL injury. My friend texted me with lots of questions about what I had gone through with my surgery, and from that moment we have been “two peas in a pod”. In high school, we were together most times. If one was one place the other was not, the other was close behind. Junior year of high school, our friendship was exploratory. We were learning about each other and creating memories together. However, senior year, our friendship had lots of highs and lows. At times, I was not certain our friendship was something I desired to continue to pursue. Yet, I did pursue our friendship and I am so grateful I decided to do so. Now, as she is at college in Minnesota and I in Wisconsin, we do not see each other very often. Sometimes, we even go a week of so without communicating. Despite this, our friendship is the strongest it has ever been. Even though we are physically hundreds of miles apart, we are not in heart. When we do see each other, it is so special. I cry every time. From this, I realize the trueness of my friendship with her, and I do not fear what the future of our friendship is to entail because of how close we are in heart despite the distance between us.
“Friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest. It’s about who walked into your life and said ‘I’m here for you’ and proved it.” ~Unknown
This quote is similar to some of the ones above; however, even though this quote is relevant to several of my good friends, it reminds me of one in particular. This one friend actually began as my small group mentor at church. I met her my freshman year of high school, and she was beginning to explore her ministry within the youth group. Each week, I saw her, and she guided me in my faith. As I began sophomore year and then junior and senior year of high school, she challenged me in my faith and who I was as an individual. Throughout the years, trust was established between us, and I sought her for guidance in various areas of my life. My senior year of high school, despite her being my mentor, I began to view her as a friend. Additionally, she was not just any friend. She was a friend who came into my life freshman year and continuously pursued me. She walked into my life, “said ‘I am here for you’ and proved it.” Now, her and I together agree that our relationship has transitioned from a mentorship to a friendship, and it is a friendship that has significantly more meaning than some of my friendships did throughout the entirety of grade school.
There are so many other quotes that I found that I could share about; however, this post is getting fairly long. So, I will leave you with those thoughts. Again, I hope that sharing these quotes has allowed you to reflect on which friendships are intentional within your life. Maybe, you are recognizing that you are blessed with some. Contrarily, you might be recognizing you do not have these types of friendships. Intentional friends are difficult to find, but they are out there. Do not lose hope and stay true to yourself. Life is a journey. Seek God, and He will show you who you should pursue.
