A very moment when I felt like an echo in an empty room, my voice bouncing back at me, but never truly heard. I wandered through the days feeling like I was too much and not enough all at once; too deep, too emotional, and too caught up in my thoughts. I felt like drowning deep in the ocean while watching the world go away from my reach. It seemed vast, yet isolating like a city of strangers, who only brushed past me, never stopping long enough to see the person within. But then, even in the craziest moment, like a quiet dawn after a long night, I found them, or maybe they found me.

It’s strange how certain people step up in your life when you least expect it, when you have almost given up on the idea that anyone could ever truly understand you. I had spent so long believing that I was alone in my depths, in the way my mind tangled itself in its emotions, in a way I craved connections beyond the surface. But they changed that. They were the proof I never knew I needed, that I wasn’t an anomaly, but there were others like me, just as thoughtful, caring, beautiful, and complex.

We weren’t perfect, and we didn’t have to be. Their presence didn’t make me feel the need to shrink myself, to filter my emotions, or silence my thoughts. Instead, I felt seen, heard, and adored in a way that was far away from feeling suffocating, but freeing. They didn’t just listen, they understood. And when I fell, because I did fall; they were there, not to catch me, but to help me rise, to remind myself that I had the strength to stand on my own.

There is something about them that makes the small things feel like everything. A text at the right moment, an inside joke, the way we’d sit together in silence and still feel connected; these things weren’t grand, but they were real. They reminded me that love isn’t always loud; sometimes it’s the quiet reassurance that you are not alone. That even when it feels like you are drowning deep in the ocean, in your own thoughts, someone is there holding out a hand, reminding you that you don’t have to do it all alone.

They helped me to learn how to love myself a little more. To see myself through their eyes, in a way, they appreciated the things which I used to think were flaws. They showed me that my depth was not a burden, but a gift. That my emotions were not weakness, but proof of my ability to feel, to care, to love, they made me realize that the things I once saw as isolating were the things that actually connected me to them.

I used to feel like I was watching myself from the outside, detached from my own life, searching for something I couldn’t quite grasp. But they? They gave me clarity where I found a reflection of myself from where I didn’t want to turn away from. They were my mirror, showing me the beauty I couldn’t see in myself. And with their presence, I slowly began to understand that I was never truly alone. I was just waiting to find the right people. The ones who would remind me that I belonged just as I am.

And maybe, that’s what friendship is. Not just the people who stand by you when everything is easy, but the ones who stay when the world feels heavy. The ones who remind you time and time again that you are not just existing, but living, and you are loved. Worth love. And for that, I will always be grateful.

This was written by our contributing writer, Atia Sanjida.