Maintaining Relationships

When you think of relationships, what are you thinking of? As you know there are numerous types of relationships from people that care and support you like your friends and family to romantic ones. Growing up, every student often meets new students every year through school and activites. Although schools never talk about maintaining relationships, we as students pick up a few tricks or understanding. Such as being considerate and thoughtful towards others' physical, emotional, and or mental health. Expanding our knowledge by learning some helpful tips for any healthy relationships is important, not just as a useful tool of communication but also to bring you and loved ones happiness and positivity.

These tips below can apply to any relationships

Being Mindful:

We all heard the term “being open-minded” before and in any relationship, you should always be thoughtful of other's feelings by choosing to respond or talk a certain way. For example, when you’re talking with a friend, it can be tempting to chime in and give a comment here and there. However, you shouldn’t interrupt someone when they are speaking, you should let them finish their sentence so you fully understand the topic. Furthermore, in a conversation, you should try to be open-minded about what they are comfortable speaking about. We have some secrets or experiences we like to keep to ourselves so try to set and respect their boundaries. Instead, try finding some common interests like hobbies and make some plans to hang out if they're free.

Building trust:

Imagine building trusts like a staircase and the more you feel you can trust someone the more you feel connected to them. It's like you reach the top or pinnacle of your friendship/ relationship. When a friend shares something personal with you, try to take it to heart and support them. Consider it as a step further into cultivating an authentic friendship, not as a means to gain leverage or anything negative but to forge a deeper relationship with that person. A person you can rely on when you may be down or if their down. Some ways to build trust are being yourself, be honest with your thoughts and feelings and if there is something negative or hurtful keep it to yourself.

Being supportive:

If you want to be good friends try being supportive! Find time to hang out or show up at their celebrations, including birthday parties, if you're in the same grade, throw a graduation party, or whatever. Even if it’s just for an hour, you're putting time to connect to your friends to deepen your friendship and relationship. A helpful piece of advice is to seize every opportunity you get, spend as much time as you can while balancing your school or work life. Since as you grow older you will find less time to hang out so capture memorable photos and make lasting memories of a shared experience and or unique occasion. Being a part of your friends’ community will help to strengthen your relationship with them and will be more rewarding than you may think.