Beauty Buzz/Blog Biz | Rainbows & Friendships
Contents
- Reflections
- Sustaining Friendships
- To My Friends
- Connecting With Sylvia On Social Media
- Author Bio
- Image Descriptions
Reflections
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”
~Maya Angelou
Recently I have really been thinking about friendship, friends, and the very critical role they play in our lives. The past year has been really challenging for many of us, and sadly we or people close to us have lost friends either due to COVID or other reasons. It seems to me this year has shown us the value of those we love and cherish more than ever.
C.S. Lewis wrote, “Friendship is born at the moment when one man says to another ‘What! You too?'” We are all looking for people who understand us, who we can share good times and hard times with, who we can laugh with—especially when it is not even funny, who listen, and who just like us no matter what.
When I think back over all of the years and the many friends I’ve had it really makes me smile. Some came into my life for a brief time and circumstances or geography separated us, while others no matter how far apart we have gone geographically are still just a phone call or text away. Some we keep in touch with regularly, while others we can just catch up every few months or even years and feel just as close as ever.
It’s when we lose a friend and know we will no longer have the opportunity to call them or spend time with them that we really reflect back on the impact they made on our life. Friends help us, encourage us, challenge us, push us, and most importantly accept us.
“Friendships between women, as any woman will tell you, are built of a thousand small kindnesses… swapped back and forth and over again,”
~Michelle Obama
Sustaining Friendships
People who become friends are often those we have proximity with. School friends or roommates, co-workers, people from church, neighbors… and family members. Recently, I have also made many friends in the virtual world who I have never met in person… and several of them I feel just as close to and can’t wait to meet in person. Some stick for a long time, but some drift away, and some that drift away show back up. I think every person has an impact on us and is in our life for a reason at the time.
“Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends.”
~The Beatles
Friendships are work too. I know a few of my good friends are reading this and wondering if I am talking about them being “work.” Some friendships are easier than others.
Sometimes we have those friends who need us and that we give more than we receive. But I have found that we also all likely have those friends who we are more reliant on as well. There are the friends who really listen, who we can count on to give us guidance, and those with whom we can just laugh. It’s great when we find those few friends in life who are all of those for us, but that is rare.
It takes dedication to make and keep friends. It is a give and take. Dedicate yourself to being the kind of friend you hope to have. I challenge you to reach out to your friends more regularly… just to say “I am thinking about you and am here for you.”
To My Friends
I hope I am a rainbow in the life of my friends… and that I will be better about telling them how much I appreciate them… before it is too late. So, to all of my wonderful, supportive, fun, and caring friends… life is better because you are in it!
Connecting With Sylvia On Social Media:
- Facebook: @Sylvia Stinson-Perez
- Twitter: @SylviaSPerez101
- National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision at Mississippi State University (NRTC): www.blind.msstate.edu/about
Author Bio:
Sylvia Stinson-Perez is a leader in the blindness field helping individuals and organizations succeed through innovative strategic planning and implementation. She has Master’s degrees in Social Work, Visual Disabilities Rehabilitation, and Business Administration. Sylvia is blind as a result of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), however, she believes that everyone should have the opportunity to achieve their potential, a conviction she promotes through:
- her position at the National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision
- projects she leads such as Speak With Confidence public speaking training, and mentoring
- service on advisory committees and boards of directors.
Image Descriptions:
- Rainbow heart shape making a border on a radiating delicate pink background with a light burst at the center of the heart shape.
- Woman with a beagle sitting in a field enjoying a beautiful summer day outside.
- Diverse friendship of four senior women all of whom are facing the camera smiling with arms around one another.
- The word “Friendship’ lifted up to a blue sky by rainbow-colored balloons.
- The author’s bio photo is a glam photo of Sylvia in a pink dress with spaghetti straps. Her hair is in a fancy updo with a pink flower on the left of her bun.