From Spoiled Milk to Cheese
A friend who doesn’t treat you with respect is like milk sitting out of the fridge for a while. The longer you let it sit, the worse it gets. Then, the smell can spread until it ruins the whole house.
The gates tower above my tiny body as I walk into the first day of kindergarten. I see the unfamiliar shapes with doors as I walk across the field. I'm trembling, sweating, clutching my mom’s hand as she drags me forward. I see kids talking and running around, and as I look I wish we could switch places. I wish I could be enjoying this but the dreaded feeling of starting school is killing me. And as I walk up a boy comes up.
With what looked like the same worried expression plastered across his face, he says, “H-hi, I’m Jayden.” Then the weight on my chest lifts. I feel relieved.
“Hi, I’m Haze,” I say.
Fast forward 9 years later, Jayden has been a great friend and helped me through hard situations. Though we had our conflicts, he always pointed me in the right direction and helped me grow throughout our school years. I helped him get into joining soccer clubs and he introduced me to new sports and people. We help each other academically and physically, pushing each other to thrive.
Healthy connections means you are always there for each other even when times get tough.
He is a good friend and an example of a good relationship. But some relationships aren’t as black and white. Some people make fun of their “friends” or use them as entertainment. Or talk about them behind their back. Or make you feel small when you’ve done something big.
A friend who doesn’t treat you with respect is like milk sitting out of the fridge for a while. The longer you let it sit, the worse it gets. Then, the smell can spread until it ruins the whole house.
If you set boundaries, though, and show you have respect for yourself and others, you can turn that milk into cheese. With cheese, the older it gets the better it tastes. The longer you have a friend that you can count on and relate to, the better the relationship gets and the more you can open up to new possible relationships.
Another friend, Eliot, helped me every Monday in the library to improve my literature by reminding me consistently to study for assignments. Eliot also encouraged me socially: he introduced me to more people, and I helped him with people he was too diffident to talk to.
In conclusion, my relationships, good and bad, helped me grow and learn how to choose the right people in my life. Healthy relationships helped me perceive qualities real friends have. They showed me how to develop myself into the type of person I want to be. Someone who knows when a friend is feeling uncomfortable or needs space, when they’re despondent or need help but don’t know how to ask. Being in a healthy relationship isn’t just a one-way street, you have to think about what they may want or need, give and take, and ultimately figure out how to flourish together.
