“Because you’re my best friend, you’re on a wild ride, and I figure you’re either going to need someone to scream in the seat beside you, or hold your hand while you puke.” – A Modern Witch by Debora Geary

“Maybe our girlfriends are our soulmates, and guys are just people to have fun with.” – Sex and the City

“If I murdered someone, she’s the person I’d call to help me drag the corpse across the living room floor.” – Grey’s Anatomy

“Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what’s to come. But that night, I think we knew it was time to let go of what had been and look ahead to what would be. Other days, now days, days to come. The thing is, we didn’t have to hate each other for getting older. We just had to forgive ourselves for growing up. ” – The Wonder Years

“When you’re getting married you start thinking about all your big moments, and you were in all mine.” – Something Borrowed

“Dear Edward, I’ve gone back and forth the last few days trying to decide whether or not I should even write this. In the end, I realized I would regret it if I didn’t, so here it goes. I know the last time we saw each other, we weren’t exactly hitting the sweetest notes-certain wasn’t the way I wanted the trip to end. I suppose I’m responsible and for that, I’m sorry. But in all honestly, if I had the chance, I’d do it again. Virginia said I left a stranger and came back a husband; I owe that to you. There’s no way I can repay you for all you’ve done for me, so rather than try, I’m just going to ask you to do something else for me-find the joy in your life. You once said you’re not everyone. Well, that’s true-you’re certainly not everyone, but everyone is everyone. My pastor always says our lives are streams flowing into the same river towards whatever heaven lies in the mist beyond the falls. Find the joy in your life, Edward. My dear friend, close your eyes and let the waters take you home.” – The Bucket List

“First you’re a part of it, then it becomes a part of you.”

“Sometimes we stand outside life– waiting for a door to open to us, hoping the person behind that door will let us in and be our friend.  I was once on the outside until a door opened to me and behind it I found not only a friend, but a new world- a sisterhood.  Now I stand behind that door- on the inside, helping to open it for someone else who stands where I once stood.” – Linda Parks

“I live for the nights I won’t remember… with the friends I’ll never forget.”

“Did you ever wake up and wonder if you joined the right sorority? We don’t.”

“Individually unique… together complete.”

“Sororities symbolize all that we wish to accomplish in our lives. They represent the struggles we all face as we grow. Why we cling to them no one can explain, but in the end, we are all stronger for it.”

“From the outside looking in, you can never understand it. From the inside looking out, you can never explain it.”

“Chance made us sisters, choice made us friends.”

“Sisterhood is the essence of all the wisdom of the ages, distilled into a single word. You cannot see sisterhood, neither can you hear it nor taste it. But you can feel it a hundred times a day. It is a pat on the back, a smile of encouragement. It’s someone to share with, to celebrate your achievements.”

“When the darkness rolls in, I’ll be there through thick and thin..” –  Hilary Duff, “never stop”

“‘Cause I know you’ll be there when I’m hanging by a thread.” –  Hilary Duff, “shine”

“‘I would never hurt your feelings on purpose. You’re my best friend. I don’t think anyone except my family has ever known me as well as you.’” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“We looked at each other and smiled. It was, although we didn’t know it, the beginning of a friendship. It was also the beginning of my career.” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“Well that’s life, I thought. It ends. And that’s friendship: every friendship has its wobbly moments. Live with it, I told myself. Get used to it. I remembered Sally years before in the car driving west, swirling her hand in that chaotic gesture, saying from now on the deaths would be easier. And I had a true friend, right? Yes, one true friend. A friend of immeasurable value. Because who else but Sally could ever love my prickly nugget of a soul?” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“We looked at each other and laughed. In that instant, I had no fear that I would lose her. We had-we would always have-our past. We’d grown up together, in a way.” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“I felt almost tingly with possibility. People become best friends with their roommates, lay in the dark and talked, got drunk together, lusted after guys, shared clothes. Years later they hoped for their children to go to college together.” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“‘Invested? Have you thought about how invested we are in each other? Wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, I always think of you. Last week, I had a new patient call me a white bitch who enjoyed seeing people like her suffer, and you know what? I didn’t fall apart. I listened to her. I talked to her, and when she left, we had an understanding. And I felt proud, because I imagined you there watching me the whole time. I never do stupid things when I think of you watching me. How can you say we won’t see each other anymore? You’d be taking away a part of me. The good part of me.’” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

Reason, season, or lifetime?

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

When someone is in your life for a reason, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on. Next!

When people come into your life for a season, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.

Lifetime relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people anyway; and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

Reason, season, or lifetime

Sorority Soliloquy

(from http://www.wiu.edu/deltazeta/sorority_quotes.htm)

I’ve heard it said a sorority

Is a waste of time; but I know better

For I have seen the love and walked

In the splendor of sisterhood

I’ve heard it said that a sorority

Is sad; I can’t agree

I’ve heard it said that a sorority

Is a dull, selfish place; It can’t be true

I’ve seen the affection, watched it

Fill my heart, the very air

And I have learned the Creed

Polished and spotless from end to end

And I’ve watched the sorority’s

Devotion drape each and every active

And pledge to look like nature’s

Freshly-granted love nourished for growth

I’ve heard it said that a sorority is

Harmful, but they are wrong

For I know my sisters…watched them

Strive to save a cause, spend of themselves

And I’ve watched them hope, dream,

And aspire, side by side

I’ve heard them say these things,

But I would disagree

Because for every shadow I have

Seen a hundred rays of light

For every plaintive note I’ve

Heard the symphony of joy

For every penny-weight of bad,

I’ve found a ton of good

Good in nature, in people, in my sorority

I’m thankful I belong.

Sorority Soliloquy

To my friends…

To my friends who are married

Love is not about “it’s your fault”, but “I’m sorry”, not “where are you,’ but “I’m right here”, not “how could you,” but “I understand”, not “I wish you were”, but “I’m thankful you are.”

To my friends who are engaged

The true measure of compatibility is not the years spent together but how good you are for each other.

To my friends who are not so single

Love isn’t about becoming somebody else’s “perfect person.” It’s about finding someone who helps you become the best person you can be.

To my friends who are heartbroken

Heartbreaks last as long as you want and cut as deep as you allow them to go. The challenge is not how to survive heartbreaks but to learn from them.

To my friends who are naive

How to be in love: Fall but don’t stumble, be consistent but not too persistent, share and never be unfair, understand and try not to demand, and get hurt but never keep the pain.

To my friends who are searching

True love cannot be found where it does not truly exist, nor can it be hidden where it truly does. Love is magic. The more we hide it, the more it shows; the more you suppress it, the more it grows.

To my friends who are the playgirl/guy time

Never say I love if you don’t care. Never talk about feelings if they aren’t there. Never touch a life if you mean to break a heart. Never look in the eye when what you do is lie. The cruelest thing a guy can do to a girl is to let her fall in love when he doesn’t intend to catch her.

To my friends who are possessive

It breaks your heart to see the one you love happy with someone else but it’s more painful to know that the one you love is unhappy with you.

To my friends who are afraid to confess

Love hurts when you break up with someone. It hurts even more when someone breaks up with you. But love hurts the most when the person you love has no idea how you feel.

To my friends who are still holding on

A sad thing about life is that when you meet someone who means a lot to you, only to find out in the end that it was never bound to be and we just have to let go.

To my friends who are single

Love is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it eludes you. But if you just let it fly, it would come to you when you least expect it. Love can make you happy but often times it hurts, but love’s only special when you give it to someone who is worth it. So take your time and choose the best.

To My Friends

Do You Just Belong? …

(from http://www.wiu.edu/deltazeta/sorority_quotes.htm)

Do You Just Belong?

Are you an active member, the kind that would be missed?

Or are you contented that your name is on the list?

Do you attend the meetings and mingle with the flock?

Or do you stay at home and criticize and knock?

Do you ever go and visit a member that is sick?

Or leave the work to just a few and talk about the clique?

There’s quite a program scheduled that I’m sure you’ve heard about.

And we will appreciate it if you’ll come and help with hand and heart.

Don’t be just a member, dig in and do your part.

Think this over member – you know right from wrong.

Are you an active member, or do you just belong?

Do You Just Belong

Various Friends Throughout Our Lives …

In first grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who went to the bathroom with you and held your hand as you walked through the scary halls.

In second grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you stand up to the class bully.

In third grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who shared their lunch with you when you forgot yours on the bus.

In fourth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who was willing to switch square dancing partners in gym so you wouldn’t have to be stuck do-si-do-ing with Nasty Nick or Smelly Susan.

In fifth grade, your idea of a friend was the person who saved a seat on the back of the bus for you.

In sixth grade, your idea of a friend was the person who went up to Nick or Susan, your new crush, and asked them to dance with you, so that if they said no you wouldn’t have to be embarrassed.

In seventh grade, your idea of a friend was the person who let you copy the Math homework from the night before that you had.

In eighth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you pack up your stuffed animals and old baseball but didn’t laugh at you when you finished and broke out into tears.

In ninth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who would go to a party thrown by a senior so you wouldn’t wind up being the only freshman there.

In tenth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who changed their schedule so you would have someone to sit with at lunch.

In eleventh grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who gave you rides in their new car, convinced your parents that you shouldn’t be grounded, consoled you when you broke up with Nick or Susan, and found you a date to the prom.

In twelfth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you pick out a college/university, assured you that you would get into that college/university, helped you deal with your parents who were having a hard time adjusting to the idea of letting you go.

At graduation, your idea of a good friend was the person who was crying on the inside, but managed the biggest smile one could give as they congratulated you.

The summer after twelfth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you clean up the bottles from that party, helped you sneak out of the house when you just couldn’t deal with your parents, assured you that now that you and Nick or you and Susan were back together, you could make it through anything, helped you pack up for college and just silently hugged you as you looked through blurry eyes at 18 years of memories you were leaving behind, and finally on those last days of childhood, went out of their way to give you reassurance that you would make it in college as well as you had these past 18 years, and most importantly sent you off to college knowing you were loved.

Now, your idea of a good friend is still the person who gives you the better of the two choices, holds your hand when you’re scared, helps you fight off those who try to take advantage of you, thinks of you at times when you are not there, reminds you of what you have forgotten, helps you put the past behind you but understands when you need to hold on to it a little longer, stays with you so that you have confidence, goes out of their way to make time for you, helps you clear up your mistakes, helps you deal with pressure from others, smiles for you when they are sad, helps you become a better person, and most importantly, loves you!

Various Friends Throughout Our Lives

For the In-College or College-Bound

Maybe the time has gone, the faces, I recall. But things in this life change very slowly, if they ever change at all….The scary part being that we’ve all been hit with change lately, and it doesn’t seem to have come slowly at all. Do you remember the day you left home? I’m sure that you do. But I’ll bet that what you remember even more clearly were the days in the week before you left. You know……the days that you spent getting addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses and trying to figure out how to say good-bye to everyone that you’ve loved for as long as you could remember.

Do you remember standing by your best friend’s car one night, after midnight, trying to sum up the meaning of a friendship you’d managed to maintain through thick and thin for years? Do you remember how hard that was, to think of how to say good-bye to that one person? It was nearly impossible, wasn’t it, to give them that one last hug and turn around and walk inside?

I’ll bet the part of what you remember was the night before you left, kissing your boyfriend or girlfriend good-bye one last time. Just knowing that you’d have to turn around and walk back inside was almost motivation enough not to leave. Stepping back to take one last look at that person you love–it’s really scary. And you go and you tell yourself that you won’t ever find someone new. You won’t ever replace your old friends. You’ll never falling in love again.

It’s really crazy,what kinds of things can happen when you don’t mean for them to. You get to a new place full of strangers. You meet people who forget you. You forget people who you meet. But sometimes, you come across some extra ordinarily special people. They have tears to shed, too. They also left people that they love behind. They’re still in love with that guy or girl back home where they used to live, and they all want someone to talk to. So you talk. Talk is good. You form bonds you never thought you’d form. You call your old friends and tell them about the new ones. Sometimes, they don’t understand. Sometimes, you hurt their feelings. Sometimes everyone is a bit jealous. You miss your boyfriend. Or your girlfriend.

One day you’re sitting in the park, thinking about all that stuff you didn’t want to leave, and a stranger sits down near you. Sometimes that person stays a stranger. Other times you talk to him or her. Sometimes you experience things you didn’t want to ever happen. You become interested in a person that isn’t your boyfriend or girlfriend at home. Sometimes college is really complicated.

Sometimes you stay together, other times you break up. Sometimes you think you’ve done the wrong thing by coming so far away from home. And sometimes when you start thinking like this, it’s time to make a change. So when this happens, you sit down and turn on your stereo, and that song “Leaving on a Jet Plane” from the Armageddon soundtrack is on, or The Eagles “Sad Cafe” song, and you wonder if you can still recall all the faces from your past. So, you pick up the phone and you call them all just to say, “Hi, I love you, I’m thinking about you.” And then just as an after thought you say, “You know, I’m really learning a lot from college. I wish you would visit all of my friends. They would love you. And you would love them. They’re very important to me.”

Because, after all this is college. And college is a growing experience. Growing experiences cause change is hard. But whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

So call your parents. Call your siblings. Call your best friend. Or your boyfriend or girlfriend. Or even your ex, if that’s how it worked out. Tell them hello. Tell them that you miss and love them. And then, turn off your stereo, walk out of your dorm room. Go to a new friend’s room and give them a big hug and say, “Thanks so much for being here. I love you.”

You learn a lot when you go to college. You learn that pulling an all-nighter means staying up all night to study for a test you will then sleep through. You learn to appreciate the taste of beer-the cheapest of all alcoholic beverages. You learn that you can roll out of bed 10 minutes before class and go to class looking like shit-and no one will notice or care. You learn youreally can do things for yourself without your parents looking over your shoulder–but you also learn you never realized how nice it was to have them there, just in case. More than anything, however, you learn how much your friends really mean to you. College friends come to mean a lot to you, but they can never compare your friends from home. Your friends from home teach you the meaning of friendship during your college years. Because you are apart from them you tend to express your feelings more — you learn how much these people truly affect your life.

You’ve got your best friend who exemplifies friendship-she calls at least once a week, sends email every day, and even sends you real mail. You feel like you never left each other…she still knows everything about you, and even over the Internet can tell when something is wrong. She teaches you that distance doesn’t have to change a friendship at all. Then there is your other best friend. She rarely calls or writes and she doesn’t do the email thing. At times you think she has forgotten about you…until you hear from her. You hear from her for the first time in almost two months-and nothing has changed. You are still you and she is still her –even though you never talk you are as close as ever, you are still the best of friends. You find yourself expressing to her just how much she means to you — because you realize it now more than ever. She teaches you that true friends are friends in the soul…separation can tear them apart.

Then there are those friends that you sort of lost touch with those last few months of high school and during the summer. You were busy, they were busy…but somehow, the magic of email has brought you closer together than you ever were in four years at the same school. You share secrets, heartache, and joy…it’s another person who cares about you as long as you will care about them too. Away from all the pettiness of high school, you’ve finally formed an adult relationship…and you realize just how great a friend this person is suddenly, the people that you thought for sure you would lose touch with in college are the ones you’re keepin closest contact with–and you miss them more than you ever thought possible. Sadly enough, there are also the friends that you were closest to in high school who drift too far for you to hold onto. You’ve both changed and suddenly you don’t have much to say to each other. But these people teach you a lesson too they make you value the others, the ones you have stayed close to, that much more. These distant friends, though you miss them when you rarely think of them, show you who your forever friends really are-and they make you appreciate those forevers much more than before.

College is rough. College severs some bonds and solidifies others…it puts a distance between you and the ones you love. But it teaches you so much. It forces your real friends to come to the front, while the rest take their places in the shadows of your memories. In college you lose some people — but through real friendship and the strength of the soul (which is where real friends join as one) you keep the ones you will need most in your life. You learn the real meaning of the quote: “If you press me to say why we were friends, I can say no more than it was because she was she and I was I.” The people who fit that mold are your forever friends.

For the In-College or College-Bound

“you form a person in your mind from the stories they tell you but on the rare occasions you have enough time to spend with someone to bond with them, that person in your mind changes, and your friendship enters a whole new level.” -jane green