Once again, Friend's Day.

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     A reasonably famous campaign defends that, in christian life, Christ is first, others are second, we are third. I agree with that - I've already been led to believe that I would only be fit to live in society once I could comfortably live with myself. Today, I realise that my ways are better perfected in the midst of people and the hardest trials that society can put us through.
     

     When you move out, and leave your comfort zone, you obviously learn a lot about yourself, but also about the true meaning of friendship, partnership, trust, honesty. Extreme situations have this power of revealing the best and worst about everything, and distance reveals the real intensity of the relations that are part of our everyday life. You also spend a lot of time on your own, thinking about nothing and scrolling through your Whatsapp contacts list.
     

     That's not necessarily wrong, or bad. We may be social beings, but we are still individuals, essentially, and always end up on our own. I used to be someone perfectly happy with being lonely, because that was all I knew back then. Nowadays, I may appreciate it sometimes, but I've been blessed enough to meet people who accepted me with all my oddities and peculiarities, and who were bold enough to convince me to tear down my walls. The ones that I love, look up to and wants the most around me are those who have truly touched my heart, those that I miss when all that's left is the Holy Spirit and I, staring at the cars on Eastern Boulevard.
     

     I dedicate this text, first of all, to Jesus, my best friend, the One who first loved me; to my family, the first ones to have my back when I need; to the old friends, those who have been loving me since I wasn't quite loveable myself; to the friends who stick closer than brothers, always welcome at my own home; to the everyday friends, the ones who fight with me the battle of reaching adulthood; to the friends that are with my in this pilgrim's journey in this land, the ones who use my toilet and with whom I share the bread, the tears, with whom I eat salt; to the friends in faith from home, the ones who were kind enough to believe in me when I couldn't, and who always cover me with their prayers; and to the friends in faith from my new land, the ones who daily reassure me that, as hard as things may get, I'm finally making my way in this world.
     

     Not every friendship is meant to last forever, but any friendship can be amazing while "forever" seems to fit within a few weeks, months, years. I am very thankful to every person that was, is and will be part of my life. I'm also happy to have been part of the lives of so many incredible people, and I hope that I've touched their hearts as deep as they've touched mine. At the end, this text is dedicated to all those who offer me memories that make me look back sometimes, just to realise how worth living my life has been. Thank you.