What are "best friends"? Who are able to be "best friends"? When can "best friends" take place? Why are "best friends" relevant? Where are the "best friends"?
I often think to myself that best friends are friends who know you extremely well, having the similar taste in various things and connect to you at a more than friend-zone level. Have you ever heard of or say a common saying which goes like "We are best friends forever!"? I guess everyone said it once in their entire life before. Well I did too, mine took place in primary school. Time passes and sometimes we lose ourselves in the midst of it, and that line we promised no longer holds of its value. Perhaps at that very young age we were too hopeful that we can maintain a lasting relationship. But in actual fact, a relationship or even a friendship needs more than understanding, love and maintenance factors.
I met my current best friends in my secondary school. Three of us forms the word "MAK". How we became best friends? It is a tough explanation that even ourselves cannot decipher the reasons by our blurry growing up memories. Both M and K are in my primary school, and we never talk to each other before. Except for K, I was her classmate for a few years, her friend and we quarrelled like enemies. We had a lot of misunderstandings of each other, but I wrote cards to her. Till now, she kept them and I still feel embarrassed seeing my drawings and handwriting on the cards. Fast forward, three of us enrolled into the same secondary school and that was where our friendship started. K and I became a student councillor in secondary school and spent hundred of hours together doing things such as learning, serving, leading, guiding, planning, ushering, hosting and scolding. M was my Chinese classmate/ table-mate. M was also a choir member and we shared hundred of hours singing, learning, auditioning, performing, planning and teaching together. The formation began when we met each other for lunch together. Slowly, we stayed as trio for meals, studies and even window-shopping. We matured together, endured some unhappiness and pain together. One day, we wanted a group name. Hence, we took our first name and completed with MAK.
We thought AMK was likely to be thought as Ang Mo Kio, while KAM was probably pictured to be an orange. Thus, MAK was the best choice. Bang, our WhatsApp photograph was the formation of MAK. It has to be..
To me, best friends are ones who you think treats, connect and love you better than normal friends. Everyone's love language(s) are different. There are five which I have learnt. Gifts, Touch, Words, Acts of Service and Time. My best friends and I exchanged gifts and cards on Valentine's Day in secondary four because we are single, we also appreciate the value of purity and celebrate it as friendship day. We often give hugs when we are happy or sad, holding hands down the dangerous streets and defending ourselves from random silly hitting from each other. We chatted till late nights on WhatsApp, sharing pictures of interesting happenings and send encouraging messages because words are power. Meals outside for lunch and dinner are common. Eating a meal together creates a platform for many talking opportunities and bonds are formed during this relaxing moment where our appetite are the best. Overall, we accumulated countless photographs and memories.
Where are my best friends now? They are living and kicking happily on this lovely planet Earth. After secondary school, K and her family moved to a large, greener place with sandy beaches and deserts. She lives in a wonderful holiday destination where many would recognised as a mega-diverse country and a home belonging to those tree-hugging animals which we crave to have a hug from. M is like me, still studying in Singapore. Though we are enrolled into different academic institutions but we have a burning passion to excel well in our home ground. M and I are hoping to visit K in the near future. Speaking of which, money is the part of the travel plan. We hope to save up by ourselves and planning with careful deliberations, we can finally "fly over to meet you" and go to the beach for a swim.
"The greatest love you can show is to give your life for your friends."
John 15:13 (GWT)
"Friends can destroy one another,[a]
but a loving friend can stick closer than family" Proverbs 18:24 (GWT)
