ode to my filc girls

My Friday nights haven't been as much fun in quite a while as last night had been. All thanks to my FILC girls.

I don't know exactly what was different with us that night, but we were uncharacteristically game for round after round of drinks and staying up later than usual. We were just on a roll-- with the chatter and the ideas and the jokes and the stories. We would laugh (quite loudly at that) one minute, then be all contemplative the next. We'd argue on a point, then we'd later come to agreement. We'd be in touch with reality and update each other on what's new in our lives; then the next minute we'd be exercising our imaginations and dream of living abroad (and bunking together) and traveling for fun.

This morning, in fact, my mom asked how come I hang out with these girls more than anyone else in my life? Well, apart from my boyfriend, that is. And I just didn't know what answer is satisfactory to explain why. Underneath it all is still the bond we established in the 1 year we spent hip to hip. But it's a bond that transcended the internship and blossomed into a solid friendship. One that's based on trust, honesty and laughter. We may not be carbon-copies of each other, but we're complementary. Must be why we hardly ever clash. Or, worse, get bored.

More importantly, this friendship is one that's based on a true sense of solidarity and-- I dare say-- a deep commitment to one another. All too often, friendships water down through the years due to either lack of time or lack of interest. Life just gets in the way of things, and as time passes, most friends either don't have enough time to catch up or just don't even bother.

But the truth is, as is true with spouses, friends are people you commit to. But, with all that happens in our daily lives, that's a lot harder to put to practice as it is to preach. That's why it's quite admirable that the 4 of us make time for one another. As in purposely carve out a piece of our regular schedules to meet up and to have fun. We choose to stay relevant in one another's lives. And I think that's integral to the survival and to the upkeep of a relationship. Without that, all you have, really, are memories. And as nice and valuable memories may be, they're not enough to keep a friendship alive.

I know I may have gushed about this foursome more times than I can ever count, but it's just that I can't help but feel thankful to have them in my life. They say you'd be lucky to have at least 1 true friend in your lifetime. Well, guess what? In these girls, I already have 3.