Broadening Your Mind Through Friendship

I have a friend from high school. It’s the classic sentence that starts every character evaluation, diagnosis, and competition. Maybe it’s because high school is frozen in a space outside normal time where friends became more than the person who sat next to you in social studies. Close friendships have an undeniable power that can affect people long after childhood. Especially for women. A UCLA study reports that female friendships are unique in the sense that they help biologically reduce stress. A ten year Australian study found that friendships can improve brain functioning as we age. Study after study shows that friendship is not only good for our social lives, but also for our physical and mental well-being. The relationships we build with those around us help shape our entire lives. I met my oldest friend in a hallway while avoiding the cafeteria. She was playing a guitar and sitting on the windowsill. Although I had no idea who she was at the time, I was instantly drawn to her in the way that teenage girls are drawn to the covers of Cosmopolitan magazine. She was the kind of person that could sing without being self conscious in a busy upstairs hallway of a public high school. Unlike me, she was not trying to be invisible. She was vibrant. The characteristics that are intrinsically hers, are the ones I like best. Perhaps because they aren’t mine and don’t run in my family, I am more fascinated by her ability to survive off an entirely unique set of skills. She...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Friends Personal Relationships Research Women's Issues acceptance Belonging Camaraderie Friendship Making Friends Open Mindedness Perspective taking Source Type: blogs