Committed to Caring

Today is the first day of November. Wow, 2021 is surely flying by. What has been on my heart during this fall season that I wanted to share and encourage you to do is to check in with your friends if you have not done so recently. Ask them to grab a coffee or go out to eat if it has been a while since you have last seen them. In-person connection is so valuable. It is also important to realize that life happens and schedules get busy. Although you cannot always be with each other in person, you can always be there for one another via alternative forms of communication. Social media and cell phones have allowed us to stay in touch and connected, which is lovely! True friends will never fade away due to time apart because the relationship will forever derive from our hearts.

If your life is busy right now, and you do not have the time to squeeze in a coffee or dinner, a text as simple as “Hey, just thinking of you!” goes a long way. It is the thought that counts. Relationships are two-way streets, so it is key to maintain the quality and meaning behind friendships. The pandemic has affected people in many different ways, and some have had it harder than others. Mental health is so important, and you truly do not know what someone is going through even if they have a smile on their face and constantly post on social media, for example. I’m one to bottle up my emotions and process them in private, so it is rarely visible that I am stressed or have something bothering me, unless you ask me. The impact one thoughtful check-in message can have can go such a long way for someone. Now more than ever, we need to be there for those who matter most to us, and remind each other of the value someone has in our lives.

“Check on your strong friends. Check on your quiet friends. Check on your “happy” friends. Check on your creative friends. Check on each other.” – Lauren Warren

I have friends both locally, and in various states and countries. We all strive to check in with each other via text, plan a meet-up to reunite, or set up a phone call or video chat to catch up. No matter the distance, I individually prioritize the relationships I have with everyone because I value those that hold a special place in my life. The best friendships are those that you can spend months or even years apart, still be up-to-date with each other’s lives, and when you reconnect in person, you pick up right where you left off.

This made me instantly think of the relationship between my cousin Alex and I. We are 6 weeks apart. She is the sister I never had. We were inseparable growing up, and when she moved down south, it was incredibly difficult on both of us. During college, I would fly down every spring break to see her, and even post-college, we continue to communicate frequently via text, phone call and video chat. Our bond never faded, but instead grew stronger due to the effort we both had to make from living in different parts of the country. She is one of my best friends, and it makes reuniting even more meaningful when we get to hug each other and spend quality time in person. See below for a photo of us when I visited her in Florida!

Remind your friends and loved ones that you love them because tomorrow is not guaranteed or promised. Even if you have no specific reason to reach out, show your appreciation because you never know how much someone needs to hear those words of care and comfort that hold so much weight and value. Send a text, spontaneously initiate a FaceTime, send a Snapchat, record a voice memo, etc. Whatever feels right in the moment will surely make the other person smile.

Remember to stay humble and kind, always!

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xo –Jess