Students appreciate their best friends
Clarisse D’Costa and her best friends hang out during Thanksgiving Break, 2020.
May 30, 2021
While they look different for each person, best friends touch the lives of their companions all the same. Thus, on June 8, many across America look to give back to those closest to them in light of National Best Friends Day.
According to National Today, the holiday came about in 1935 after Congress decided to set aside a day on which people could honor their dearest friends by doing outdoor activities with them. Although the holiday is currently celebrated mostly online through video calls and text messages, the premise of the holiday has remained the same through the years.
“It’s super important to have a holiday for best friends because they play a large role in our lives,” freshman Clarisse D’Costa said. “Just like Mother’s Day [and] Father’s Day, it’s nice to have a day dedicated to our best friends to let them know we love them.”
While the holiday has a set meaning, the concept of a best friend doesn’t. As per an analysis by SWNS Digital on a OnePoll study, Americans have varying ideas as to what makes someone their closest friend; for example, while some say that they must undergo a traumatic experience with someone for them to qualify as best friends, others think that texting each other at least once a day is enough to do the same. However, the results of the study indicate that every strong friendship keeps the people involved both happy and healthy.
“To me, a best friend is someone I have fun with, but also someone I can confide in and trust to be there for me when I need them,” sophomore Shruthika Suddala said. “They are honest and not afraid to tell the truth no matter what may happen, but most importantly, they are the people who are loyal and accept you for who you are.”
Close friends provide proven psychological benefits. Mayo Clinic states that the presence of a friend vastly improves one’s self-worth and can prevent them from giving in to unhealthy habits such as drinking and smoking. Additionally, friends provide a support system that people can rely on to help them destress and cope with difficult situations.
“One thing I love most about my friends is that I can always talk to them about anything I might be going through or anything that might be bothering me,” D’Costa said. “It’s great having people like that to rely on and to trust.”
As National Best Friends Day draws near, many have already begun to plan for the holiday with the goal of showing their closest friends how much their companionship means to them. Some plan to follow popular traditions such as posting a selfie on social media with the hashtag “#nationalbestfriendsday” or getting food with their best friends, while others plan to do something else entirely.
“[The holiday] can be a nice way to appreciate your friendships,” sophomore Salma Yusuf said. “[My best friends and I] might meet up, depending on how busy we are at the time.”
However, people’s displays of gratitude towards their best friends should not be limited to just one day. According to TinyBuddha, it’s important that people not only take the time to physically be with and talk to them once in a while, but that they do so regularly—after all, that’s what best friends do for each other.
“Through [the pandemic], there were a lot of times where I was struggling or just felt sad, and when I would talk to my best friends, I would feel happy,” Suddala said. “Having friends you can trust deeply is a very hard thing to [do] these days. It’s important to show your gratitude to [them] daily [so] they know how thankful you are for having someone to depend on.”
