What quality do you value most in a friend?

The idea of writing a post about all the meaningful people in my life started to grow on me as I was writing the posts about my parents. I was afraid that it was going to take ages for me to do so, but looks like the Universe is helping me, yet again.

I love my friends, no, I adore my friends. I’ve actually written a short post about the friendships in my life, but now I want to put the spotlight on them. Little by little, I am going to talk about each of them, but I just need the inspiration to do so, in order to create the perfect posts. Because they deserve the best.

When I saw this question, my mind immediately went to my two best friends. Yes, I’m a lucky bitch and I have not one, but two best friends.

Lavi, well, just saying her name makes my heart full. We met when we were eleven years old, starting middle school. After the first few weeks, we became desk mates and continued to be so for the next four years. When I say Lavi I say growing up together, teenage years, handmade jewelry, movies, punk music, talking on the landline for hours, her coming over and we just laughing our hearts out.

Even though during high school we weren’t colleagues anymore, our connection and our friendship didn’t suffer. On the contrary, it grew. So, when college began, we became roommates. Just imagine: four girls, a tiny room, no personal space and a lot of ego. We fought a lot, but we compensated it with laughters, we argued a lot, but we compensated it with support, talks and the general feeling that, whatever one of us does, the other will understand and, when necessary, forgive.

Lavi has been, for the past nineteen years, the person with whom I can speak about anything. There are no boundaries, there is no shame, there are no restraints. It’s a very freeing way to communicate and I am forever grateful that she is a part of my life. Lavi is courageously feminine, faithful, extremely funny, she gets my references and she doesn’t have a problem with telling me when I’m wrong. I’m sure there are loads more compliments I can give her, but why do that when I can simply say this: she’s home. She is my chosen sister and, with that, I think I’ve said it all.

My other best friend surprised me a lot. When we first met, I tought he was one of the most annoying people in my group. Starting college, I didn’t feel like I belonged and I said to myself that I’m just gonna stick with my high school friends, thank God I have them.

Then along came George, the, at first, annoying one. If you were to ask me in the first days after meeting him if we were to ever become friends, I would have said no way José. Then, a small gesture made simultaneously by both of us, as a sarcastic joke, during an anatomy lecture, was the signal that we have the same sense of humor and maybe, just maybe, we can start up a conversation.

I thank the Universe each day for that “fingers crossed” sign we both did. Because my, oh my, do we get along. I can’t count all the times we lost our breath from laugher or the times that, with just one look, we understood each other perfectly. George is a nurturer by definition. When I’m with him, I know that I will be taken care of. He is the most generous, caring and supportive person in my life. He makes me feel safe.

Opposite to his nurturing and comfy qualities, he is the most courageous and adventurous of all my friends. I have learned a lot from him: from saying yes more often to ditching that class just for the fun of it, from making it on your own to being so bravely yourself, George is an example. A fun and always surprising example. If I were to invent a motto, I guess it would be “What would George do?” or “Be like George!”.

He has taught me that it’s ok to not do everything by the book, that it’s fine to be different, that it’s absolutely safe to break the rules and that, by all means, there are no rules. He is home and adventure all wrapped up in a very, very, very funny guy.

They make me think that maybe I did something right in this life for deserving such amazing best friends. Of course both Lavi and George have flaws, but so do I. Of course they are, from time to time, annoying. But so am I. The beauty is that we have accepted each other’s flaws and decided that we can tolerate the not so fun part for the oh-so-amazing-to-have-you-as-my-best-friend part.