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The Stuff of Legends: What I Admire About My Friends

And What I Hope to Do More of Myself

By Sarah KatherinePublished 6 years ago 2 min read
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My circle of friends is both smaller in number than it once was, and larger in geographic terms than ever before, but those in it matter a lot to me. Over the years people have come and gone, but the core is ten-years strong, and long may it continue.

While we don't always get together and talk as much as we should, nor do we always agree on the politics of the day, the attractiveness of a celebrity, or where you'll find the best coffee, my friends have a bunch of excellent qualities which I deeply admire. I've shared my top five below.

They're curious.

My friends ask questions and really listen to the answers. They don't just sit there thinking about the next thing to say or how to fit their objectives into the conversation. They ask follow-ups, they nod, they smile, then they answer with their own experiences, funny tidbits, and make recommendations. I love that they listen to and understand me. Even better, they sometimes ask the questions that I hadn't thought to ask or come at problems from an angle I had never considered.

They don't judge.

Well, sometimes we get together just to judge, moan, and complain, but more and more as we grow up we try to be open-minded, accepting, and understanding of each other, our colleagues, our partners, and strangers on the street (or the internet!). They get that what makes other people tick doesn't always spin their wheels and they're ok with that. They want to support people, help them grow, and build them up, no matter the situation. The number one rule; don't be a dick.

They're not extra.

Sure, maybe in the privacy of our own company, or after a couple glasses of wine, we can all be a little over-the-top. There will always be favorite songs that require synchronized dancing and funny stories to be re-told, laugh-snorting and all but on the whole, few of my friends are truly attention-seeking. They're often confident, extroverted and fun without ever feeling the need to cause a scene or be an embarrassment. They'll happily take the back seat if someone else is in the limelight, no huffing, puffing or generally being upset.

They're passionate.

The gym bunnies are passionate about gym stuff, the musicians are passionate about music, the travelers are passionate about their next adventure, and the fur-baby owners love talking about their fur-babies. Best of all, they love to share their enthusiasm and excitement with me and open up about what it means to them. They also expect me to keep them up to date with my passions and adventures too because sharing is caring, and accountability is good for me.

They're just good, old-fashioned, likable people.

They practice the art of greeting people by their preferred name, remembering important things like birthdays and anniversaries, putting their phones away during our catch ups and using positive body language when we get together. They work to build me up and I leave me a little better than they found me. I'm happy to introduce them to each other, to my professional network and to my family, because they're pretty great!

So that's the five qualities that all my friends share. There are plenty of other great things about each individual person in my circle of friends and if they don't know what they are, they should drop me a line to find out!

What about you—what do you love and admire about your friends? Is your tribe worth a shout-out?

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About the Creator

Sarah Katherine

I’m a digital native, building a content portfolio. I'm interested in writing digital content on a variety of topics.

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