The Importance of Friends

I have always believed that if you have one or two true friends, then you are blessed beyond measure! As I have gotten older, I have realized that your choice of friends are very crucial. Life can drag us down but you true friends will help you get through it. I have also learned that friends can also pull out different sides of you that otherwise probably would never come out on it's own.

My best friend from preschool was named Darby Jones. Darby had Down Syndrome and cancer for most of her life but even then, she would never back down and she was always positive. There was a light inside of her that shone so bright that even though she's been gone for eight years now, it still shines for many people today! Darby taught me to live life to the fullest because you are never promised tomorrow and that life itself is an adventure! I also learned how to be brave through everything that I go through because there's always a rainbow on the other side! I still miss her everyday but I know that if I can say that I made a difference in at least one person's life just like Darby reached many lives, then my life would be complete.

I remember the day after Darby died and two of my oldest guy friends escorted me everywhere at school that day because they wanted me to know that I was not alone and that I never would be. I was too devestated that day to realized the signifagance of that act but now looking back on it many years later, they were showing me how blessed I was to have the friends that I did even in my darkest days! They probably have forgotten that they had done that but that is one thing that has stuck out in my mind about that day all of these years later. I am thankfully still friends with them today.

when I was a little girl, I met my best friend Chloe. We were the two little girls running around in wheelchairs at the church that we both used to go to. We had lost contact for a while until a couple years ago when we reconnected at college. Chloe has been such a blessing in my life because we can understand each other's struggles better than people that aren't in wheelchairs can. Because of Chloe's influence on my life, I have brought out my artistic side because she loves art so I try to do something special artistically for her every once in a while. Chloe also reminds me that I don't always have to put on a strong face and that showing my more vulnerable side sometimes it's not such a bad thing. After all we are all only human!

There have been many more friends in my life that have been there for me through thick and thin. I know that I am so blessed to have these people influence me throughout my life. Because of all of the life lessons that I have learned over the years, I am the woman that I am today. What friends in your life have influenced you for the best?

me and Chloe

Darby Jones