Why making time for your friends is SO IMPORTANT for your mental health and just life in general.

Thank goodness we have FINALLY arrived to the time in history where supporting & empowering women is encouraged. We are ending the ridiculous “girl hate” undertones that have been in place, while spending time with each other and realizing just HOW BEAUTIFUL, MAGICAL AND VITAL lady time is.I don’t even know where to start. I LOVE MY GIRL FRIENDS. They are the entire reason I’m still sane and feel like I can survive this crazy world day in and day out. I have lots of “layers” of friends, I think we all do. We have our best friends, fringe friends, work friends, new friends... you get it. But regardless of what group your ladies fall into, it’s important to show them ALLLLL some love and make sure you allow yourself some time with each “girl gang”.Let’s start with the besties. I mean DUH. Life would not exist if it wasn’t for best friends. Like I’d probably be in the fetal position, while lost in the wild somewhere, whispering to myself if it wasn’t for my core group of ladies. They nourish my soul & know me more than I know myself. The time spent with them has been and will always be cherished and greatly appreciated. What’s easy to do however, is to neglect this much needed time because the bond is so strong. Life gets busy, plans derail, whatever the reason, it’s not a good one. If we are being honest, it’s easy to bail on a bestie because you know they will always love you. But don’t. You and your mental health won’t thank you. A 2015 paper published in Personality and Social Psychology Review, suggests that people generally look to their best friend to fill two critical roles: “source of strength support,” in which friends provide comfort, protection, and soothing; and acting as a “relational catalyst,” challenging, encouraging, and celebrating the other person. A best friendship, in other words, can make the bad better and the good even more so, something that more casual friendships can’t always pull off. Moral of the story, make time for your bestie. And lots of it.Now just because someone doesn’t make it into your BFF zone, doesn’t make them any less important. THESE FRINGE FRIENDS NEED YOUR LOVE TOO, just as much as you need theirs. What are “fringe friends”? Well, they are your friends just outside of the BFF zone. You know you can count on them, you always have a great time when you’re together, you could remember countless great convos you have shared with them, you may have mutual friends that brought you together or maybe you’re rekindling an old friendship from years back, regardless, ba-da-bing, here you are, being friends. These friendships are super important. They are fun-loving, light hearted and always end up making you feel refreshed and plain ol’ happy.  I know every time I meet with a “fringe friend” I always leave saying, “it’s been WAAAAAYYYY too long, we HAVE to do this again soon”. Just sitting back & catching up, reconnecting... whatever you want to call it, is so cleansing. At least for me it is. Anyways, what should you do now? Go pick a friend & set a date, you and that fringe need to catch up and have some laughs. It’ll be good for both of you, I promise.Here comes the “tricky” one... work friends. Since the beginning of time, women have been discouraged to empower and support one another, especially in the workplace. These times are done, thank god. and for the first time, women in the same industry are being called to come together, inspire one another, collaborate and encourage. WOOOOOOOHHH! For me, this hasn’t been an option until recently. I haven’t really had “co-workers” being a nanny, then traveler, then personal assistant. BUT, this has recently changed. I decided to put myself out there & finally network with the media maven community. I found myself extremely intimidated, hoping they would like me, my brand and my entrepreneurial vision. I was pretty terrified and naturally overthinking everything, but time and time again, I continued to put myself out there and each time, I left more empowered, inspired and connected. (Almost) EVERY woman I have met has been absolutely incredible and has added to my Entrepreneurial experience. It was so refreshing to be able to relate to other woman about struggles in the industry, encourage each other with current projects and brainstorm about future collaborations and events. Like they say, when women come together great things happen.Last but certainly not least, we need to put some energy towards making NEW friends. Yes, adding people you don’t know into your circle. But why does that sentence terrify most of us ? Why was it so easy to be ourselves and make new friends as kids?!? Seriously though... WHY?!?I think it’s because we didn’t care. We only cared about having fun and feeling good. And we desperately need to get back there. When I ask others about making new friends most people cringe. They say it’s uncomfortable, hard to do and nearly impossible now that we are adults. I say, NOT TRUE. Although, it does hold some truth to it, it’s not impossible & doesn’t have to be so torturous.Over the past 6-7 months now, I have been working on building new friendships. I LOVE the friends I have now, but as I change, and as the world changes, my friendships and the dynamics of them will too. So here’s to maturing, hey? I set personal & (until now) silent commitment to meet new people who are completely unrelated to any other aspect in my life. I’ve met new friends at coffee shops, online, at networking events, while waiting in line... seriously you name it, I’ve probably tried to make a new friend there.So what’s my draw to new friendships ? You never know what will come of them. And to me, that’s beautiful. You could be sitting next to your new best friend, but have 0 clue because you’re stuck in a “no new friends” mentality. Or you’re scared. Or both. You never know what you and someone else have in common, put yourself out there and find out.SOOOOO time is up &&& I have a challenge for ya. Go out and make a new friend. THIS WEEKEND.  Or at least reach out to someone you want to be friends with and set a date. You’ll be surprised what happens...Anyways, long story short... make new friends & keep the old, one is silver and the others gold. —> thanks Girl Scouts for bringing that message home 🙌🏼Thanks for humoring me. Now go make time for your friends and remember how incredible you feel when you’re with them. THATS THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP.Much love,CPs. Wanna be friends ??