Cherish Friendships

This seems pretty obvious, but it is not what you think. Let me give you some background. At one of the lowest points in my life, after living in my car, I was renting this tiny bedroom from a complete stranger. I wasn't feeling too good about myself, so I had cut off all contact with most of my friends and family. I found it hard to make new friends, and I felt uncomfortable calling up old friends. I would sit on the floor of this unfurnished bedroom and thumb through my journals and photo albums--personal journals, FriendSavers, travel journals and photos. Even though I was completely isolated, I was comforted by the memories of good times in the past. I was like a shooting guard who was in a shooting slump, so I looked at old videos of how well I shot the ball. Knowing that I had made some great friends and shared some special moments with them, assured me that I would break out of this slump and re-connect in the future.

It reminds me of this conversation I had with a Native American tribal leader. He said that Americans are always buying insurance to protect them from bad times, but he believed in in-assurance--assurance in himself and his tribe--to get him through the bad times. These keepsakes were my in-assurance. The people in my FriendSaver were like the lost members of my tribe who gave me the strength to carry on.

When I say "cherish friendships," I do mean to cherish the friends you have now. Call them up, send them a letter, write them a poem. If you do, you might never have to go through the isolation that I experienced. What I also mean by "cherish friendships" is to preserve them and hold onto them. Write in a journal, make a photo album, make a video of the good times you had with friends. It is these keepsakes that will keep you safe in tough times.