Day 12: Sisterhood

Friendships.

Last week, I and 10 of my close girlfriends took a trip to Cancun, México. In short, the trip was a movie. Yes, 10 girls, one house, and nothing but good vibes. Something I believe is so rare! We didn’t argue once about anything. We barely disagreed. And in the off chance we weren’t on the same page, somebody would begin to dance or sing and next thing you know, we were on set of the black High School Musical.

But, tonight’s piece isn’t solely about the trip itself but more so about the feeling these young women left with me. Over the past six years, our friendship has grown exponentially. We are a large group with smaller groups inside of that group, however, we’ve somehow managed to make it work. I believe this is because at the foundation of our friendship is love and respect. We respect each others goals, opinions, ideas, and decisions; and while we might not always agree, we never tear each other down. We love one another, far more than words can explain. We support each other, we pray for and with one another, and at the core, we allow God to guide each and every one of our endeavors.

The purpose of #100DaysofDating is heavily routed to my journey in believing in love again. I admit that for the past four months, I’ve been in a pretty dark place. I’ll smile in pictures and laugh at jokes, but the reality is I’ve been enduring what feels like my greatest heartbreak. Love does that sometimes. It gets you really excited about the possibility of a happily ever after until the excitement wears off. The side effects of this drug thing, I guess. But being with these women this past week evoked a new sense of power in me. It’s almost as if I’d been sleeping this whole time and they woke me up. They gave me light.

I didn’t go there teary-eyed and confused, nor did I bring up my love life at all. But I didn’t have to. I felt an immediate calming feeling as I sat on the couch surrounded by love. As we laughed with each other, I was reminded how important support is. I was reminded how important having genuine people in your corner is. I was reminded that as much as you think you’re okay, and how strong you think you are, everybody needs somebody. As I reminisce on our getaway, I realize that I have 10 special somebodies.

Sometimes, we take the people in our lives for granted. We’re so consumed in work, our plans, and goals that we put off spending time with the people who deserve it. We send our best friends to voicemail with hopes of calling them back. We cancel engagements in hopes of hanging out another time. We constantly put things and people off because we think we’ll get to it eventually. We do all of this knowing the reality of how temporary life is, yet we’re so dependent on tomorrow. We all claim to want love and are so eager to give it to someone, yet we show the lowest form of love to those who already love us. I too am victim to this.

But when you have a bond with people, just as effort is required in relationships, it is too required in friendships. And I think we forget that sometimes – friendships are relationships, too. Anything that you want to last requires effort and upkeep. Dealing with people is no different. My girls taught me that.

I want to dedicate this segment to them. We’ve built a sisterhood on love. While it may not be romantic, it’s a love that is consistent, a love that is pure, and a love that I can count on. At the end of the day that’s all I really want and I am blessed to have found that in them. Every love story is different, but ours is my favorite. #LivLuvLux