July 5, 2021 Monday

I got motivated tonight to write this article after talking to two good friends of mine over messenger. We had a video call and all of us made time to answer it. At first, we are only chatting but since I have something or some story to tell them, I ask if we can video call.

By the way, we have our group chat even if it's just the three of us. We often talk about anything under the sun on that GC too. So, we had a video chat tonight. We were not able to track the time and it's already past 1 hour that we are talking on the phone.

This happening motivated me to write this article and I dedicate it to my very good friends, Jen and ate NicNoc(Monica).

Friends

What is the definition of friends? A lot of people would say, "That's what friends are for!" Or some will say, "That's okay because we are friends anyway!" But, what does friends really stands for?

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of friend is as follows:

• One attached to another by affection or esteem

• One that is not hostile(hostile-not agreeing with something)

• One that favors or promotes something (such as charity)

• A favored companion.

Also, based from dictionary.cambridge.org friend also means:

• A person you like,

• A person who you know well and who you like a lot, but who is usually not a member of your family.

It could also mean:

• A person or organization that is a friend to/of a group or organization HELPS and SUPPORTS it.

There are a lot of definitions of friends our there in the books and internet but what I like most is the definition or input from betterhelp.com that goes like this:

A friend is someone other than your family or partner that you share close affection with. You share kindness, sympathy, empathy, compassion, loyalty, fun, and probably some common beliefs and values with them. They can be in person or online, your next door neighbor for 1,000 miles away.

There are different degrees of friendship. Some friends are casual; you may share a couple of interests with them, and you may talk sometimes, but you're not as deep as you could be and that's just how the friendship is. Other friends you're more close to. You spend time whenever you can and you've been through it all. You may have had a childhood with them and have experienced ups and downs and yet there still good friends of yours. The two of you can go for a long time without talking but once you start talking again it's like no time has passed. The relationship just feel secure.

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How I value friendship

Growing up in different parts of the country, i learned how to adapt to new things. I learned how to gather new friends, new acquaintances, new experiences. There is an advantage in living to different parts of the country but there is also a disadvantage.

Advantages are you get to know a lot of people. You get to know different cultures, different traditions and different dialects. Because of us transferring always, i learned how to speak bicol, tagalog, visayan, in cebuano. I knew if you look ano and why but i don't usually use them. I only use them if i knew an ilocano aura what i just use some sentences just to impress them in so i can perhaps get to know them better.

On the downside there are disadvantages as well. The disadvantages are because you are always transferring places, you really don't get to know your friends better or on a much deeper level. You don't have permanent friends because you always change friends whenever you transfer specially before when social media is not that popular yet. Another disadvantages is you get these two changes that sometimes you get confused.

You don't know anymore what's right or sometimes you don't know how to interact well with another person. Because sometimes you're already learning this kind of culture and trying to adapt to it and when you're just on the level of adapting to that you have to transfer again so sometimes it's really confusing. Another disadvantage is well based from my experience makes the dialects. There was a time that i was chatting with a cebuana friend and i replied to her in a bicol dialect which confused as both.

I'm quite familiar with this experiences because when i was in high school i went to four different schools. With that being said, i've met around an average of 160 different person in 4 years. And it's really hard. But ai was glad that when I started working I get to meet this two beautiful ladies whom I so adore.

We share kindness, sympathy, empathy, compassion, loyalty, fun and some common beliefs and values.

My friend Jen

I knew Jen because I worked in P&O. I started working with them in October 2017 but I only knew Jen in December 2017. I remembered my first encounter with her is December 24, 2017. She was the person assigned to look after us newbies because most of the supervisors has went home already. I was the last person taking in calls and good thing she has a car so she just told me to come with her and she'll drop me off at the terminal because I want to go home to my hometown because it was Christmas eve.

That was the first time I encountered her. Then, we became close when in May 2019, we worked on the same project and in 4 months, Jen, ate Nic noc and me became close because there are 5 of us. 2 guys and 3 girls and we are the 3 girls who works together.

I was so grateful to Jen because last Christmas, I was working night shift and I can't go home so Jen invited me to their house to work there and also to celebrate with them. The picture below was Christmas Eve feast.

The next picture is the New year where I also was not able to go home so Jen's home has became my home on the 1st of January in 2021.

I often go to Jen's house and stay overnight. We talk about lots of things. About life, love, lovelife (as if Jen has one😅☺️😉) life experiences, family, kids, future, dreams and many more.

Last March, me and Jen became neighbor because I am now renting near her place. And starts to work from home. I still visit her and we often exchange ulam or viand. Sometimes, I eat dinner at their house. But since the start of lockdown in our house, its been a month that I havent been to their house and I totallg understand because it's also for their safety.

Also, Jen has helped me a lot during my most difficult time in life. Since we are neighbor, she always ask me if there's something that I need. Specially when I had Covid. If you don't know yet, you can read my article on the link below.

June, what have you done?

Jen is someone I can count on in times of need and whenever I have a good news, she's also one of the few friends that I tell first. She's really a good friend worth keeping. 😍☺️

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Ate NicNoc (Monica)

Ate NicNoc was very quiet when I first encounter her. But she is just the kindest person I knew at our office. I don't have much encounter with her until we also work on the same project last May 2019.

There are 5 of us working on that project and I was the one sitting on the middle, next to my right side is ate Nic Noc and that's the time that we started talking and get to know each other. I never thought that I would be this close to her because she is very kind and modest. We have something in common which is a great faith in God. And that's what I like about her.

She is also someone I can talk to whenever I have health problems. She always gives me advices on what I should do and what precautions I should take. Last time, when I got sick, she let me borrow a thermometer and oximeter which is very important for Covid patients. When I was feeling okay, I told her that I will return it to her as soon as I got okah but she told me that it's already mine.

I was so shock and grateful because the oximeter is not cheap. I know I need to buy my own someday but ate NicNoc giving something like that to me, I'm really thankful for that. This is not the first time. Last time when I got quarantined at our office, she also sent me some rice cooker so that I can cook at the office. I told her I'll buy it but she told me I can keep it. She's really, really nice. Whenever she goes to buy to the COOP, she always ask me and Jen if there's something we want to buy and she'll drop it off our place.

She's just the sweetest friend I have too.

Here are some of the pictures of me, ate NicNoc and Jen:

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Our friendship is not an ordinary friendship as we all started just as workmates. But now, we no longer work for the same company but our friendships remained. I thank God for giving me such good friends that are worth keeping.

Let me end this article with a quote from betterhelp.com. It goes like this:

"Hard times will always reveal true friends."

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To God be the glory! 🙏🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️