What are some qualities about your closest friends that you admire and appreciate?

Their ability to love. I simply do not know how they manage to do it. It astounds me.

Every single time I have been at my lowest, they have been on the phone, flown from a different city to see me, been by my side at the hospital, listened patiently while I ranted, and cupped my face in their hands, and told me over and over again that they loved me.

You cannot even imagine how it feels when you feel all messed up and another human just takes you in their arms and envelops you with their love.

I marvel at their existence. Everytime I am close to believing that there is no good left in this world, my friends make me believe that this world is a wonderful place to live in.

The grace of having people to care about you, at times when you feel like an outcast, when you have been told that you will never fit in, for someone to just hold your hand and tell you that they are there, is the biggest blessing of all.

And I strive to be a friend like them. I strive to make other people feel, what my friends make me feel.

Safe. Accepted. Loved.

And while my heart feels broken a lot of times, I know I am not bereft of love in my life. On the worst of days, I close my eyes and remember the people who mean the world to me.

Thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you God.

Dolly Alderton writes this beautiful passage in her book “everything I know about love”;

When you’re looking for love and it seems like you might not ever find it, remember you probably have access to an abundance of it already, just not the romantic kind.

This kind of love might not kiss you in the rain or propose marriage. But it will listen to you, inspire and restore you. It will hold you when you cry, celebrate when you’re happy and sing All Saints with you when you’re drunk.

You have so much to gain and learn from this kind of love.

You can carry it with you for ever. Keep it as close to you as you can.