Graphic by Nate Barton
There are so many different ways to say I love you:
“Have you been getting enough sleep?” “I brought you some coffee.” “Text me when you get home.”
I am guilty of every single one of these, and I’m proud of it. It might come off as slightly overbearing (I mean I am the mom friend, though), but that doesn’t mean I would ever be ashamed of how I express my platonic affection toward my friends.
It seems like everyone is so worried about what people think or say or do, rarely anyone feels comfortable telling their friends that they love them without fear of being judged. But that isn’t how it should be at all.
Humans are meant to be communal. I accept that fact and I wish more people would. It is too easy to mute those group text messages, or ignore your best friend’s call, but friendship is important. Bonds are important. Love is important.
To be communal is to express your love openly and unabashedly. Communication is needed in all relationships: filial, romantic and platonic. (Also, quick side note: call your mom; she would love to hear from you). Don’t be ashamed to tell those around you just how much you appreciate them.
Some of us are graduating this semester. Maybe others are just coming back from abroad, trying to merge friend groups. Maybe you second-semester freshmen are still trying to hold on to your high school squad. And those bonds, our bonds, are important.
But I am going to share something with you about these relationships: most of them will break apart. You will be separated by time zones and jobs and countries and oceans, but there is one thing that will always remain: the love.
In those moments when your community is far way, whether that be family or your significant other or friends, remember the tears and the laughter and the late night ice cream runs and the times you loved, unabashedly.
That love runs deep. So embrace it.
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Follow Lauren Davila on Twitter: @laurengilmore03
