During my middle school years and even some of my high school days, I thought it was so important to have as many “friends” as possible. What I don’t think I realized at the time, was that there was no fulfillment within having those many, many friends. Sure, there were the few inside jokes that received laughs, and yes, there were the fun and memorable times at parties; but after having friendships that are more than the inside jokes and the party nights, I have now realized it is so extremely important to wisely choose who you surround yourself with, even if it’s a select group of people.
Now, I’ve had the experience of what it is like when you choose to surround yourself with people that really love you. I may only have a select few of people I choose to spend the majority of my free time around, but let me tell you, it is has turned out to be way better than having the 20 or 30 people I used to think were so important to possess. These few people support me like no other. They love me and my wacky ideas and believe in every single one of them. We could laugh at the dumbest things for hours, or sit down and have really serious conversations for God knows how long, and rely on each other to give personal advice in return. With the aspirations I have, I cannot even imagine not having these sorts of people in my life. They understand my passion and they believe in my drive to take me anywhere I want it to. When I walk in runway shows and my nerves are going crazy, I know one thing I can count on is that they are somewhere out there in the audience. When I come back from photo shoots, they are excited to see the results of all the hard work I and others put in. When I start a project of any sort (like this blog for instance) I don’t have to think twice about them wanting to help me in any way possible. They are ALWAYS there for me. Sometimes, they are even RIGHT THERE WITH ME! Two of my best friends walked in my first fashion show alongside me. One of them continues to occasionally do photo shoots with me, and sometimes even comes just to help behind the scenes. They ALL listen when I think of new ideas and sometimes even help me generate more. What more could a creative individual ask for?
With aspirations like these, I cannot stress how important it is to surround yourself with people that constantly believe in you and your abilities. Trust me, if you don’t have 20 friends, that is NOT a problem. I wish I would have known that a while back. As long as you have a select few of people that you can trust with your life, you are doing GREAT.