For A Lifetime

When we think of friendship, we think of someone who will be there for us, through anything and everything. Friendship is something that can be earned, taken advantage of or even failed. Friendship has been seen in many aspects of life, whether it be with a human being or an animal. We find that in many relationships with people, it may be hard to trust someone if you have been hurt in the past. The sorrow and pain someone feels when they feel betrayed by someone, they gave all their trust to. It is like being burned with a brand, the hot iron searing into your skin, the soft crackles as it burns the flesh. It’s like a knife slicing through the skin on your back, pushing its way to the bone, twisting and turning in the hole. The knife violently taken out and the blood seeps from the hole that was created and flows down your back. Darkness can be found in any friendship or relationship. It may even create the stages of grief, trying vapidly to gain acceptance. We deny that anyone can treat us this way or even betray our trust. We deny that it is happening, finding excuses and reasoning for their actions. We grow angry and find little solace in our recollections of what may have happened. We dwell in our anger for some time, going back and forth between the denial and rage. We bargain to be different and try to see things their way, even if it is not the right way. We bargain for a second chance at something that may not be good for us, praying and hoping in some way they come back. Then we find ourselves in a deep darkness, the crippling depression taking over our minds. We find comfort in the fox hole we have created, laying in our chaos and despair. The hole seemingly feels reassuring and bearable, even real in our minds. This darkness finds a home and stays for days, months, years. It may even be hard to break, but when you finally gain acceptance, it drifts away; slowly. Acceptance is the final process, the final test that you must pass. In acceptance, we find a happiness that is tolerable and may even find a way to trust another person. This is the process we go through in many friendships. Like Sara Goldfarb said in Requiem for a Dream, “In the end, it's all nice.” 

That is the darkest part of a friendship, there is always the possibility of an everlasting friendship. A friendship worth a lifetime, the adventures and pain all in the same. Someone that we can trust with our last breath. Someone we can rely on in our darkest and happiest mindsets. Friendship may be talking on the phone for hours, seeing each other every day or working side by side to help each other when in need. Some friendships are distant and yet strong, we could barely talk, see each other every several months or only be there for each other in times of chaos or despair. The point is that in any friendship, not matter what, that the bond is unbreakable. The bond you have created together can withstand anyone or anything that may come to try and crack your connection. It is like the sun casting its rays on your face, you feel the warmth and embrace but its far away. That bond will never break, you may not feel the rays every day, but it is always there. Friendships are like roller coasters, you start by waiting in line, waiting for your turn to shine. Then you sit in your seat and know that with your friend you will never meet any kind of defeat. The ride starts and as you are climbing that first drop, you feel your stomach fill with anticipation. It flips and flops, creating anxiety, but with a squeeze of a hand, you overcome your fears. You fly down that first drop, and your friend still has your hand because they want you to feel safe and secure. Going round and round, up and down, and at the end of the track as you make your descent back to home base, they still have your hand, firmly holding on. When you exit the ride, you realize that nothing can break your alliance, not even death. That is what friendship is all about, never giving up on each other. Always and forever, you find your way to each other. In the end, friendship has its trials and tribulations, but you must find a way to make anything in life work. Life is what you make it and with a friend you make it worth existence. A lifetime of understanding, compassion, and the willingness to be who you are and not care. Like the Irish proverb says, “A good friend is like a four-leaf clover, hard to find, but lucky to have.”