TL;DR:
- Celebrate cherished friendships.
- Friends teach us as we grow to be the person we are, and they enrich our lives.
- Consider the 5 love languages as you look to build and strengthen your friendships.
The friendships we make matter. There is a whole day dedicated to friends which I think is pretty awesome. A day dedicated to friendships is well earned after a year like we’ve had where we have not been able to get together. International Friendship Day is July 30th. This is a reminder: don’t wait until a dedicated day to remember and cherish those people you call your friends.
Choose Your Friendships
Pick the friends that you affiliate with careful consideration. There is an ancient saying that goes something like this: we become like the three people we hang around the most as we go through life. The lesson taught would be that we are going to meet many people in our life’s path. We have to follow our intuition to figure out who we bring into our lives and who we don’t.
Celebrate the Differences!
No matter how long you have known each other or how new the friendship is, treat it with care. Invest what the friendship requires so that we can connect and enrich each other’s lives.
I especially like the research from the book, The Five Love Languages. These love languages have helped me understand how to build lasting friendships. Intuitive as this skill may be, it’s well worth the read to understand why some friendships are more difficult than others.
We connect because we care about what each person can bring into our lives and how they can guide us. But some friendships last a lifetime while others are short-lived. I have considered that is just how they are supposed to be.
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Be There for Each Other
My biggest learning from when I was little in Kindergarten was to be there for each other. Yes, I still do have those girls I got to know in my primary classes, as we learned to share, collaborate, and made mistakes. These friendships taught us so very much.
- Consider the quality time you spend doing things like going to concerts and games.
- Think about words of affirmation by writing cards and notes, and making calls to let others know how you feel.
- Bring thoughtfulness into the friendship by being generous and giving awesome gifts that only friends can give.
- Consider physical contact by hanging out on good days and being there on very bad days, sharing hugs.
- Do something that someone needs, like making a meal for them, helping them paint a new room, or plan out that garden they need help with to show that you are bringing in action-based service.
Finally, I think it is important to know that some of us are extroverts and others are introverts. We need to respect those differences in personality as we go through life and the journey it holds for us. One thing I’ve been taught in life is that we don’t always have to see each other; we just have to be there for each other and make the time we have together count so it shows we care in our hearts.
Yours in Education,
Nilmini
References
Chapman, Gary 1992. “The Five Love Languages.”
About Nilmini Ratwatte-Henstridge
Nilmini Ratwatte-Henstridge teaches in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. She was born in Sri Lanka and immigrated to Canada with her family. As an Elementary School Teacher who is passionate about Equity, Social Justice, and Human Rights in education, she enjoys teaching the younger generation to be global-minded citizens.
Discovering the world by connecting with others is an opportunity that we have today in our society today and she loves meeting new people! She is always learning while traveling to understand the inter-connectedness of this beautiful earth we live in! Nilmini LOVES cooking great meals, watching movies, and the latest fashion trends! Family and friends are close to her heart as she looks forward to balancing social media and navigating professional learning communities in education to network globally this year!
