Everyone has heard the saying. “Men/Women can come and go but a great friendship can last forever.” As a true believer of this saying I am proud and honored to say I was blessed with friends I can not only rely on but depend on when needed. I have the childhood friendships that began during my pre-teen and teen years and those that I’ve been blessed with as an adult. Due to these friends I have learned to be compassionate, supportive, to spontaneous and outgoing, and a person who not only listens but can give advice based on our history together without actually alienating them.

As a woman the women friends are dominant, but then I also have the male version, which to my surprise has helped me cope with dealing with the men in my life in a sense they can relate to. Some say a woman and a man cannot be friends without it leading to a relationship or sex, but I can honestly say yes we can. It is not only therapeutic to have a male friend but also helpful when you are invited to an event on short notice and can’t scrounge up a date.

Yes, their had been occasions when the men I dated felt threatened, which later resulted in us breaking up but a true friend doesn’t dump a friend because someone feels inadequate or insecure. As a teenager the guys I dated couldn’t cope with it, which was understandable they were of course boys but once you are classified as a man, if you feel threatened and can’t handle a friendship that was there before you and see it as such you have issues I don’t need or want in a mate. My men are to be assertive, confident and must know that if I give my heart to you I am with you. Yes my friends will always have a place to stay if needed, a call will be returned and the occasional friend’s night will ensue, but if I am committed to you, you will have your special time as well.

Men and women today tend to stay away from the opposite sex friendships in order to keep their mate satisfied, but I just can’t go that route and never will. No I don’t expect them all to get along because I know that sometimes isn’t possible, but I do expect for the one I love to understand and acknowledge that my friends are a part of my life, that like family I can never turn my back to nor ever should I have to.