Friends Like Family or Family Like Friends | Food for Thought - Part 2
2am Thoughts penned Down!
One thing I've always felt super grateful for is the amazing people I have in my life. From my family to friends to even just acquaintances, I've really been lucky to be surrounded by the best of the best kinds of people. Whether it's support, guidance, fun times - I've always gotten the kind of support you need to flourish in life. Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah All praise to Alah miyan for putting such wonderful folks in my circle. I know not everyone has that kind of blessing. It's easy to forget when you're living it day-to-day, but reflecting on it, I feel blessed a million times over to be connected and related to such people. Really makes me appreciate all the goodness in my world.
My family has always been such a solid foundation for me. Even when I doubted myself, they believed in me and pushed me to work harder than I ever thought possible. They saw potential in me before I even knew I had it in me. Now as an adult with my own life, I appreciate them even more. Like even though I'm married now, my parents and siblings are still the first people I want to share good news with. Hearing other friends complain about tensions with their families makes me feel lucky. I've never had the kind of family problems or disagreements that some deal with. They've always been my biggest cheerleaders. As I start this new chapter, I realize how much their support over the years shaped who I am today. I don't know where I'd be without them in my corner. I'll forever be grateful for how blessed I feel to have the family I do.
On the flip side, I've been so lucky to have amazing friends by my side for literally over a decade now. They've stuck with me through all the ups and downs and are always there when I need support, no questions asked. One friend in particular from way back in school really helped shape who I am. And man, I felt so blessed in university too - when everyone warned me about finding "snakes," I somehow found life-long friends instead. Our whole student group became super tight. Now we've all gone our separate ways after graduating - married, moved all over, got jobs in different cities. But we still make a huge effort whenever even a couple people are back in town for things like weddings or Eid to plan a get-together. It's wild to think we've been friends for so long at this point. I'm grateful as hell to have people I can always count on no matter how much time passes or distance separates us. Friends like them don't come around every day.
Just recently for Eid, there was only like 5 or 6 of us total from the whole friend group who happened to be in the same city. But we still somehow pulled off planning a BBQ last minute after talking through and cancelling at least a hundred other bad ideas. And every time after we meet up, no matter how long it's been, we leave feeling so pumped that we made it happen and got to see each other again. Even with such small numbers this time, we made it work. It's always a blast catching up in person since most of the time now we're all over the place. I'm telling you, finding people you click with that well who you can pick back up with no matter how much time passes - that kind of friendship is priceless.
To sum it all up, the friends I've made over the years truly feel like family to me at this point. I'd go above and beyond for any of them no questions asked. At the same time, my actual family feels more like friends - I have that level of comfort and trust with them that I can share literally anything.
I've been so lucky to be surrounded by genuinely caring, supportive people both in my friend circle and back home. It's a blessing to have people like that you can count on through both good and bad times. Friends who feel like family, and family who are like your best friends - that's really the most anyone could ask for, you know? I feel ridiculously grateful everyday to have these amazing people in my life who have gotten me through every phase so far.
Yours Truly,
@kinzaghauri
TEAM 5