Exploring the Depth of Friendships

Friendship - it's a lifeline, a sanctuary, a bond that transcends age, gender, culture, and distance. Ever wondered about the secret ingredients that make some friendships last a lifetime? Let me, Teresa, take you on a personal journey, from childhood bonds to adult friendships, from family relationships to the increasingly prevalent online friendships. We'll explore the mysteries and magic of these relationships, discussing the qualities we covet in a friend and how the diversity of friendships enriches our lives in inimitable ways. Buckle up, and join us on this insightful journey!

As we gear up for our next episode, join us as we delve into some hard-hitting questions - Is higher education a right or a privilege? Should it be cost-free? Is it a worthy endeavor for everyone? Is it mandatory for students to attend college? As we dissect these questions and more, prepare to embark on an enlightening exploration of the role of higher education in our society. 

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Chapters

• 0:09 Friendship Journey and Qualities
• 12:51 Friendships and Higher Education Are Vital

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

Welcome to season two of the Infusion podcast. My name is Teresa and I am your host. I'm excited to be back for another season. The goal of this podcast is to help women and young girls fill up their cups. Oftentimes, we are so focused on helping and supporting others that we forget to take care of ourselves too. My mission is to spread love and joy through movement, education and motivation. Today is International Day of Friendship and I would like to share my friendship journey with you, but first I would like to share a little history about this day. International Day of Friendship, or World Friendship Day, was founded officially in 2011 by the United Nations General Assembly. Per their website. It's centered on the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.

Speaker 1: 0:57

According to an article published by Better Health and medically reviewed by April Justice, who is a licensed independent clinical social worker, friendships can be incredibly diverse. They may take many forms and can transcend age gaps, gender, religion, culture, distance and even language barriers. The different types of friendships are childhood, adult, family and online Now, of course. Childhood friendships those form in our early years and typically with peers who are around the same age or the exact age that we are. Some childhood friends remain friends throughout their lives, while others naturally lose touch with these friends over time, after their lives go into different directions. Adult friendships are just what they sound like. These are formed in our adult years. Adult friendships are more difficult than childhood friendships. This is, in part, to adult schedules being so busy. Also, as adults, we have to be more intentional to make friendships blossom. We also are already set in our ways of doing things and we're more resistant to changing things up, and so forming those friendships as adult can be much more challenging than as when we were children. Most children are open to trying new and different things, so it's much easier as a child to form a bond and friendship with other children. However, it's important to have friends that you can lean on throughout the challenges of adulthood.

Speaker 1: 2:20

Adult friendships can be meaningful no matter the length. As I have to always remind myself, people come into my life for a reason, for a season or for a lifetime. It may not be all three. So you have to take those friendships and relationships as they come, whether they're there just for a particular reason, to teach you something, to show you through, to help you get through a particular problem or thing that you're dealing with your life, or maybe they're only there for a season, so maybe they're only there for a couple of years, or you could have a friend or friends that are there for a lifetime. Those lifetime people are very few, but that doesn't take away from those reason or season friends who help you to get through those many transitions in life.

Speaker 1: 3:04

As family, we share special kinds of friendships with our family members, and this is why we see cousins and siblings become close friends With the same life experiences and history in common among their families. This can be a foundation for a strong, friendly bond. However, this is not always the case. There are many families who have grown apart over time. I'm grateful that I still have family members in my life that I consider my friend, but, like many others, there are some family members that are just that family members. There's no specific bond, there's no friendship beyond us being relatives related by blood or by marriage or however. That family bond has come. There is no friendship there, and that's okay.

Speaker 1: 3:48

Have you ever thought about starting your own podcast? Do you like to talk to people? Do you have something to share with the world? Well, if that is you, just like I was. I was so confused, didn't know where to start, what tools to use, what tools I needed, but I'm so excited to be partnering with Buzz Sprouts. They helped me kickstart my podcast. They have all of the resources that you need, both in written form and also YouTube tutorials, and if you sign up for their paid plan, you will receive a $20 credit if you use the link in my profile bio and you will also be helping to support the Infusion podcast.

Speaker 1: 4:22

The last group of friends are online friends. In this new digital age, it is easy to chat online with people from all across the world. These friendships can be formed via social media, online groups or forms that are based on certain interests, hobby and more. I can't tell you how many interest groups I belong to on Facebook and other platforms. It's nice to share and learn perspectives from a diverse group of people online. In school, there were times that I wanted to ask a question in class, but I was too afraid to raise my hand and then a classmate asked the question that I was going to ask and I was so relieved. In online groups, people including myself are more open to asking questions. We know that in most cases, we may never meet these individuals in those large online groups. So raise your hand and ask a question, right? No one can see you. On the other hand, some people may become best friends or close friends with someone they've met from an online group. According to the BetterHelp article, one study found that online and in-person social supports are associated with lower levels of depression-related thoughts and feelings, and that online friendships can be especially nourishing for those who lack sufficient in-person support. So if you're having trouble finding a friend in person or you're not clicking up with people in person, try an online support group. That may help.

Speaker 1: 5:41

You want to make sure you have people in your life that are supporting you, that are positive and that are going to motivate and lift you up. So we have reviewed the history of friendship and the different types of friends. Now we're going to discuss the qualities you look for in a friend. There are so many variety of qualities that most people want to have in a friend. Some of those include honesty, humor, supportive, reliability, caring, kind and loyal, and I can keep going on and on with this list. My number one friendship quality that I look for in individuals that I'm interested in building a friendship is supportive. We are all human and we all make mistakes, so I don't expect any of my friends to be perfect, because I'm definitely not perfect. However, if my friend cannot be supportive of my ideas, my decisions, my choices, then we just can't be friends. I want people in my life that respect my individuality and support me, even if he or she may not agree with me 100%. Now I did take to social media and email and I took a poll to find out what quality or qualities everyone else looks for most in a friend, and what I found is that there were a lot of people that said supportive, just like me. There were a couple of people that said loyalty, and there were a couple of people that said caring. So those are the people that responded to my poll on social media and via email, and those are the top three qualities supportive, loyalty and caring. So we're going to dive into my friendship journey.

Speaker 1: 7:14

Throughout my life, I've rarely had a hard time making new friends. I've always been a very outgoing person and I've always loved offering my help to others, even as a child, so I think this gave me more opportunities to interact with others. I still remember my childhood best friend. Her name was Elizabeth. We lived in the same apartment complex and attended the same elementary school. She was a Caucasian and me being African American. Many of our friends of the same ethnic backgrounds didn't understand how we had become close friends. This was in the 80s, when friendships with children of different race were still looked at as not the norm. Well, at least where I lived in San Bernardino, california, that's how it was. Our complex was occupied primarily by African-American families, and we also had a large population of families that migrated here From from Cambodia, so I guess I was expected to have an African-American best friend. Who knows? Elizabeth and I didn't treat each other differently because of our different cultures and backgrounds. She would give me her last of anything and I would do the same for her. Her family always included me and invited me on their family trips, and she was always welcome to come with my family as well. We had so much fun. We looked out for each other in school and at home. Now I did have other friends, but she was the one I spent the most time with and shared the most experiences growing up. Now, eventually, we grew apart when we went to different middle schools and I didn't find another Elizabeth until I moved to Arizona.

Speaker 1: 8:39

My family relocated to Arizona in 1994 and I had to start my second semester of freshman year in an entirely new state, a New school with new people that I didn't know and, of course, just like in my earlier years, I instantly connected with many people at my new school. They were very friendly. We hung out during lunch and during after-school activities. Some of us even dressed in matching outfits on photo days and more. But there was one friend that stood out among the pack, and her name is Marcella Wheaton. During our high school years, she was Marcella Davis. She was that friend that supported me regardless of what was going on. She stood up for me when others didn't. When we learned that we were both originally from California, we clicked up, and the rest is history. Because of her. I love going to music concerts. We attended so many concerts during our high school years. It seemed like every time there was a concert in Phoenix we were there, as mentioned in the article.

Speaker 1: 9:33

Once we became adults, our lives started to change. Marcella got married and I got pregnant. I thought for sure that that would be the end of our short-lived friendship, but it wasn't. Instead, it was the turning point of what would become the most amazing friendship that anyone could ask for. Marcella has been there for a nearly every important event in my life, and if she wasn't there, she had a damn good excuse for not being there. She was named the godmother of our daughter and she never misses a birthday or Christmas without making sure she has her favorite things.

Speaker 1: 10:04

As we started to build our own families, of course, we got busy. We didn't get to spend much time together, but we always checked in with phone calls and texts as our busy lives continued. We would meet up when we could squeeze in the time, and every time we met in person, it was like we didn't miss a beat. Now, fast forwarding to 2023 and 28 years later, it's still the same with us. We are now sharing best practices for being entrepreneurs, the latest canvas hacks, exercise opportunities for us to learn and grow, and so much more.

Speaker 1: 10:36

Time has continued to pass us by. Time stops for no one right, but Marcella and I have stayed connected and grounded in our friendship. Together, we've experienced loss, love and so much more. We have always supported each other through all things. Even if it wasn't something that we really loved a hundred percent Individually. We still supported each other for what we were doing. We never cursed each other out. We've never talked down to one another or about one another. Our now even busier lives still make it challenging to meet in person, especially with us living on opposite sides of the Valley, but we have made an intentional effort to make sure we book our sister dates well in advance.

Speaker 1: 11:16

Now it's very hard. If you don't know us, it's hard to explain how deep this friendship runs. We've laughed, we've cried, we've prayed and more together. Marcella, I love you from the bottom of my heart. God knew exactly. He knew exactly what he was doing, making sure that our paths crossed and that we linked up and never looked back. This is a very emotional being for me, so I'm just gonna keep it 100. I appreciate your friendship, your honesty. You always tell me like it is, you don't sugarcoat anything. I appreciate your love, your support, your ride or die mentality. When it comes to you and I, no one can ever replace you.

Speaker 1: 12:08

And today I dedicate this episode International Day of Friendship to my best friend and my sister. When you get a friendship like the one that we've built, oh, you got to hold on to that person, because friendships come a dime, a dozen and, as I said earlier, those lifetime bonds, lifetime friendship, lifetime support. You're not going to find that in any person, any random person. It has to be meant, it has to be destined, and Marcel and I were destined to be friends, to be more than friends, to be sisters. So I love you, sis. Thank you so much for all of your love and support.

Speaker 1: 12:51

Today we talked about the importance of friendships. Now, how will you celebrate this International Day of Friendship If you find a friend like Marcella? Hold on to him or her tightly. In this world full of so much hatred, it is so hard to find and keep a truly genuine good friend. Tune in next week as we are going to dive in and talk about higher education. Should it be free? Is it beneficial for all? Should students, children, be forced to go to college and more? You have been listening to the Infuse you podcast. I hope that something was said today that will help you along your life journey. Until next time, continue to do you, be you, infuse you and be blessed.