Supporting your friends

When your friend hits a milestone, it's time to celebrate!

One of my friends recently has a piece of film premiering at a film festival. He worked really to get the final edit done and spent months of dedication outside of full-time work and film reviewing to have it ready. I am so proud of his efforts and excited to see the final product. During the course of this time I learned many lessons about supporting a friend in their endeavours. 

Firstly, I realised that I sometimes need to get out of my own head and put others first. My friend sent me links to view multiple versions of his documentary throughout it's editing phases and I never watched a single one. While I wanted to and intended to, I could never find 20 spare minutes to do so. I was so tied up in my own academics, work life and health that I didn't put this first and I regret that. I think he was feeling a bit upset by it too and I can understand why. While I am attending the premiere, I do feel like an integral part of his journey was missed by me. I know now that I want to value and support my friends in everything they do and sometimes that means setting aside time for something important. 

Secondly, communication is key. While I feel disappointed in myself for letting my friend down, I think it's also important to communicate this fact. Friendship is about mutual respect and that's something I sometimes have trouble saying out loud, despite feeling it so deeply. I've learned for next time that I want to state how much I value the friendship, even if my actions haven't aligned with that lately. 

Finally, responsibility. I am so proud of my friend and I take full responsibility for not always prioritising those endeavours. I know life gets busy sometimes, especially when health takes a turn, but I know that I want to do better now. 

I hope this gives some insight into friendships and really valuing the people in your life. This comes across in lots of different shapes and sizes so however friendship shows itself to you, I hope you can learn something from my mistakes.