They say friends are pots of gold in one’s life.

If you’ve got good friends who stuck it out with you through the years, you’ve got treasure in your hands.

If you meet new friends along the way, that would add to your box of treasures and memories you’ll keep for a lifetime.

I’m not an expert in relationships but I’ve had my share well enough for others to learn from as well.

We all have our sets of friends– from the time we first learned to socialize with others to our grade school days where we can already establish a bond with our playmates and have fun with them and until we can find our own choice of friends that we can play along well with.

As we age, we experience friendship in different levels. I have wonderful memories of time spent with my high school friends and whenever we get together, memories of all the laughter and freakin’ moments that we shared many years ago are relived all over again. During college, I also had a new set of friends whom I shared new school adventures with.

After school, we all moved on to different career paths. In my showbiz writing profession back then I made friends that I keep to this day.

So, you may ask how I maintain friendships this long?

Here are some tips:

• BE TRUTHFUL— If a friend has hurt you, say it. If you can’t say it to his/her face, write a letter.
• SHOW APPRECIATION–Not everyone has something to give materially but you can always show that you appreciate his/ her presence. You can show your friend you appreciate the friendship by sending messages of concern, asking how she’s doing or giving small tokens like food, plants or anything your friend likes.

• DON’T LOSE OLD FRIENDS FOR NEW ONES— We will always meet new people in our life’s journey, we get to bond with them, establish relationships with them. But not forgetting the old ones we already had.

• FIND TIME, HAVE COFFEE-– In any relationship, friendship or otherwise, giving time is essential.  Find time to have dinner or coffee with friends even as a small group while maintaining health protocols especially at this time. Catch up on lost time especially if you guys have been busy and haven’t seen each other because of this pandemic.
•  REACH OUT— You can always put a smile on your friend’s face by just asking her how her day went, how she’s feeling about something or simply let your presence be felt but not being intrusive at the same time. A text, call or private message will suffice.

• BE A BETTER FRIEND— Yes, you know in your heart you are a good friend, but you can always be a better one.

•  THOU SHALT NOT BREAK THY TRUST— This unspoken rule applies to all but should be most observed by our chosen friends. Why? It is with them that we share almost all our activities,  problems, life issues, heartaches, everyday joys and even the little experiences we encounter in our daily life. So, trust is so important.    It takes constant togetherness and bond to build trust. It’s important to know you are safe with your friends especially today that times are unpredictable. I show them care and appreciation for the concern they give me and in return they show that back.  It’s always a mutual thing.

•    DON’T SPILL SECRETS— A lot of things are involved when you give someone your trust. It means you are sharing part of yourself. Once it is shared, never divulge.  Even when time comes that you won’t be in touch anymore or you’ll have a fight with her, even if you have bad feelings for that friend.   You have to keep the trust you sealed with your friend about what you both shared.

And the list goes on as you discover more about each other and your friend’s character as well.

There’s no secret actually how to make friendships last, just be a good one. Everything else will follow.