So many people are focused on their dating and love lives, but they don’t realize that the best love blooms from a strong friendship. Emily Bronte has a beautiful poem that helps to illustrate this idea.

Love and Friendship by Emily Bronte

Love is like the wild rose-briar,

Friendship like the holly-tree—

The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms

But which will bloom most constantly?

The wild rose-briar is sweet in spring,

Its summer blossoms scent the air;

Yet wait till winter comes again

And who will call the wild-briar fair?

Then scorn the silly rose-wreath now

And deck thee with the holly’s sheen,

That when December blights thy brow

He still may leave thy garland green.

Despite the harsh elements, friendship is still able to keep thriving while love dies out after a season. Of course, friendship is a two-way street, one person can not be “in charge” of the friendship or be carrying all the weight themselves. So, now I’ll turn to ways we can get to know our friends better and be there for them.

The first way to strengthen a friendship, or any relationship really, is to communicate often. You’ll never know much about your friends if you never talk to them. Even just texting them good morning and asking how their day is going can go a long way. It lets the other person know that you are thinking about them and are interested in their daily lives, not just the exciting times when you do activities together. Some people think that saying good morning and goodnight every day makes the words lose their meaning, but I think that if you really love your friend you’ll always want the best for them and hope they have a great day. Even if the words and intent behind them are the same, I think that can only strengthen your relationship.

Sadly I must stop here before the post gets too long (but we shall continue this another time :D). Now onto the word of the week!

The Word of the Week is: Mellifluous

Pronunciation (Romanized): Meh-lih-floo-us

Definition: Sweet and smooth, pleasing to hear

History and Etymology: Derived from the words ‘Mel’ which means ‘honey’ in Latin and ‘fluere’, to flow.

Example: He paused in the forest, searching for the source of such a mellifluous voice.

That’s all for this week, Readers! I hope you have a wonderful week!