My favorite thing about being a woman is my best friend.
For as long as I can remember, I have been influenced to compare myself to other women. Women are almost always pinned against each other in media and given the stereotype of being fake when it comes to friendships.
When I think about this, I realize that the media and stereotypes are wrong. Some of the most vital moments of my life have been with my best friend. Having women friendships is one of the most important and influential parts of womanhood. It’s not just me; within the past few years, psychology has been expressing this very fact.
According to the National Library of Medicine, women’s friendships are a support system. They discovered an increase in a “woman’s sense of self.” These studies share that a higher level of intimacy was found compared to other friendships.
When I put this study in perspective, I couldn’t agree more. My best friend and I found each other in first grade and grew closer in third grade, and we have been attached at the hip ever since. We were always together, so our classmates mixed up our names because it was always just “Whitney and Harmony.” When I tell people this, they always ask if it annoyed me, but honestly, it just showed how true our friendship was.
My best friend is my other half. Yes, we are women, and so what if we share excitement over clothes and makeup? I love talking about these things with her, but the times we spent laughing over nothing at 3 a.m. and watching all 41 episodes of Dan and Phil play the Sims 4 in one weekend are just as important to me. I won’t let our friendship dwindle to this stereotype that we only talk about “girly things.”
These conversations are not just “girly things,” they are a connection. It’s womanhood bonding, and it’s not just hair and nails, it’s support and someone who doesn’t judge you.
There’s something so moving about women’s friendships. I love my best friend more than most things in my life. She’s been with me through thick and thin, and we’ve embraced our femininity more and more over the years. We wear matching outfits and dye our hair to match the others. If she wears makeup, I do. If she wears a crop top, so do I.
We match each other and go into the world ready to make it ours with our makeup and outfits, and we call each other beautiful. We laugh at things that make no sense because that is what women’s friendship is. She makes me the woman I am meant to be. A woman who isn’t afraid to express femininity and has more support than she could ever need.
Whitney will be there for every important aspect of my life, and all my “BFF” necklaces will be worn around her neck because that’s what it means to have a best friend.
I love Whitney in a way that helps me see the true value of life, friendship and womanhood. She is my favorite part of being a woman.
CE – RS / C.F.