#howtobeafriend

[volup2]

NEW ARTICLE UP!!!What Does It Mean to Be a Good Friend? by Melissa Varvaro Original illustration by Cassie Levy

https://www.volup2.com/articles-and-blog/2020/11/1/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-good-friend-by-melissa-varvaro

[drdeeknight]

An empathic response can be hearing someone’s story out and having nothing to say. Being quiet. Being in awe of their survival and choice to still be here. It’s a privilege to be stunned into silence. Honor that with your presence. Just show up. ✨ [image text: crossed out quite that says, “If that were me, I would have…” and quote. If it wasn’t you sit with that. Be quiet. Listen. Empathy starts with your ears, not your mouth.🤫 end image text.] ✨ #empathy #showingup #OutOfTheDarknessBook#silence #therapeutic #justshowup #justbequiet #sitwithit #sitwithme #showup #bequiet #howtobeafriend #friendshipadvice #onbeinghuman #thehealingcollective #thehealingcollectiveAL #healingwounds #traumacare #traumarecovery #howtoheal #howtobebrave #healing #iamhealing #iamwhole #healingothers #sharingstories #healingincommunity #storytelling #storylistening #listenwell https://www.instagram.com/p/CWyZde2FJuq/?utm_medium=tumblr

[parentingroundabout]

Flaky Friends

[recordofmyreverie]

What it Means to Be a Friend to Me (March 2017)

When I came back from the cruise, all I was doing was trying to find my way back out onto another adventure. I can’t even count how many applications I sent out to employers all over the United States, but for a short-term goal for the summer, I wanted to go on a trip out of the country. By myself. 

I’d almost bought a plane ticket to Iceland because  I found a really good deal on plane tickets, but for some reason, every time I tried to go through with the transaction, the website wouldn’t let me. Plus Iceland was expensive, and was actually the ultimate fantasy destination for my dreams of travel, so maybe I should save it for last. There’s no place on earth that seems more magical to me. I’d probably get there, and then ask myself “Now what do I do?”

It had been a while since I chatted with my friend Gerwin. We met on Omegle back in July of 2012 when I was in California. I don’t think we even had any common interests, and he was one of the few people that I didn’t meet through videochat. Somehow, we ended up typing back and forth to each other for about 5 hours  and have become best friends ever since. 

At the time, he and I were in very similar situations. Neither of us had been in real relationships before, but there were people that we really liked who we both met online and who also lived very far away. At the time, my guy was in England, and his girl was in Indonesia. 

I thought I had it bad with just distance, but he had a longer distance to travel plus a religious barrier and a complete culture shock to deal with. For years, we’d comfort each other for our losses and congratulate each other on our gains. He was like my personal blog, who, if anyone ever read our conversations, would get to know every little thing about me because I never hid anything from him. It was easy to talk to him because he’d always be supportive and understanding, and never judgemental. 

I wanted to do something for Gerwin to show my appreciation for his friendship, so as something to help me with some graphic design practice, I illustrated a photo of him which inspired me to illustrate more photos of people and ask them what they thought was an important quality about being a true friend. I wanted to make a book called “The ABC’s of Friendship” which featured a different person for each letter. I couldn’t find the energy in myself to complete this project because at the time, a lot of people who volunteered weren’t even my friends. I could only complete a few of the illustrations, and then didn’t bother with the rest because my heart wasn’t in it. It wasn’t true friendship like what I had with Gerwin. 

Fast-forward about 5 years, and Gerwin has listened to me talk about everything and everyone almost every day consistently. I would never want to lose out on a friend like that. 

Recently, he’d been occupied with his new job and internship with Microsoft, and I was busy driving all the time, so we didn’t talk much anymore. Last time I talked to him, he was dealing with the stress and heartache of another girl he’d found on the internet. He was supposed to meet her around Christmas time, but plans fell through because she had gotten terribly ill and he was never to hear from her again. 

When I talked to him again on St. Paddy’s day, he said that he wasn’t having the greatest of days. He said he was feeling really depressed, lonely, heart-broken, and stressed from his job. He said he wasn’t feeling alive.

Maybe I wasn’t supposed to go to Iceland first, and that’s why I wasn’t able to buy tickets, but once I tried to buy a ticket to Amsterdam, I had no problems at all. Without even thinking at all, and not even 10 minutes after I had stopped talking to Gerwin, I purchased a plane ticket to go see him and meet him for the first time in real life so that I could show him a brighter side to life. 

I told him immediately after I had everything booked, and I forwarded my itinerary as proof that I was that crazy and that serious. I would go any distance to help a friend, and especially one who was so dear to me. In less than three weeks from now (March 31st) I’ll be there. 

This trip was actually the inspiration for me to write over 60 blog posts in 5 days going over the details of how I came to this moment. I wanted to write as much as possible about the people that have impacted me along the way and how far I have developed as a person because of them. Through the good and the bad, I have learned so much over the years, and met so many influential people. I am sure that meeting one of them is going to be an epic experience worth remembering, so I needed to catch up by writing as much as I could about other people who have influenced me. Now I’m all caught up, and it only took starvation and never leaving my room except to go to work. Now I can eat and get out of my bed for the first time all day at almost 6 PM.  

I cannot wait to explore as much of your real life and as much of Europe in as little time as possible, Gerwin! See you soon!

[wildwoodearlylearning]

A great read for Friendship Week!

[savsmilesubam-blog]

📚My Friend Maggie by Hannah E. Harrison is a book about friendship and loyalty. It's about not giving into peer pressure and always being there for your friend. It's important to work on character education early and have conversations about what a friend looks like. Does what you look like on the outside really affect how you act as a friend? Should your image matter to a friend? This book could be used to lead a great discussion with kids as young as three years old and up. ⭐ Find it on Amazon- Here's my affiliate link: https://amzn.to/2Jzcj1C ⭐ #myfriendmaggie #hannahharrison #picturebook #childrensbook #childrensillustration #bookstagram #charactereducation #friendship #peerpressure #loyalty #socialemotionaldevelopment #howtobeafriend #importantdiscussions #preschoollife #beyou

[pelicanfamilyseries]

Which one should I pick? How about this one about two pelican friends and the nice things that friends should do for each other. See more about Pelly and Melly, two young boy pelicans, in Pelly and Melly--Best Friends at www.pelicanfamily.com. #pfsbooks #earlychildhoodeducation #earlychildhood #childrenspicturebooks #childrensbooks #booksforkids #kidsbooks #readtoyourbaby #readtoyourchildren #readeveryday #summerreading #parenting101 #parentingtips #readingisfun #raiseareader #betterreaders #readingtime #readingtime📖 #booksarefun #friendshipforever #howtobeafriend #friendshiptips #naturewalks #cartoondrawings #cartooncharacter #readabook #earlyreading #earlyliteracy #bookseries

[sunny-dstroyer]

Moving sucks. ✨💀✨ #saturdayfun #holidayweekend #howtobeafriend #arcticfoxaquamarine #bluehair #greenhair

[gettingrealwithyou-blog]

Who is Your Friend

[amazonkiss-blog]

Pen pals?

I just finished watching "Mary & Max" about a little girl befriending a man with Asperger's through the mail. I'm EXTRA emotional (monthly hormone surge and all that) and sobbed my eyes out. It made me think of the importance of friendship and how these two people connected and supported one another on a strictly platonic level. I want that. I want to learn to be a better friend. I want to write letters to someone and brighten their day. If you're looking for a pen-pal (online or snail mail) I'd love it! 💟💟💟Simone

[pammoonwalker]

I saw Letty Cottin Pogrebin interviewed on The Today Show this morning and I was so moved.  I wish I had this book last fall, when a very dear friend was fighting breast cancer.  She had very large, lovely circle of girl friends - we all bustled around her, we set up an email group, we shared information and news, we delivered meals, and we tried desperately to do the right things and say the right things when we were around her. But - I look back and I so wish we had this book to guide us.

Here's what Judy Blume says:  “A lively, breezy, important book about conversations that are often difficult, but need not be. How I wish I’d read this before some of my own cringe worthy mistakes. Remember how your mom told you to just be yourself? Letty Pogrebin helps you be your best self, even in the most uncomfortable situations. You will thank her for giving you the courage to be a true friend. “ 

Check out her facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/HowToBeAFriendToAFriendWhosSick