i like friends

someone once said, "friends are nice." and they were right. friends are extremely nice. friends come in all shapes and sizes, and it's good to have a few. friends make the world go round, or at least make it go around in a more exciting way.

i like old friends, who you can absolutely be yourself around and know that they won't judge you, because you are exactly what they are expecting.
i like new friends, who are exciting and fun books just waiting to be read and turned into classics.
i like the friends who you laugh with about nothing (or close to it) until your sides ache and the only thing keeping you going is the fact that the other is still laughing. these friends also don't mind when your mascara runs from the tears that are involuntarily coming out. sometimes they tell you when you look like a panda, sometimes not.
i like quiet friends and the beautiful silences that you share with each other. friends like these show you that friendship is a state of being, not necessarily an action all the time.
i like loud friends, who make big messes and go a little nuts, but still manage to convince you that that is perfectly acceptable and incredibly fun.
i like the friends that you can get mad at, and then completely forget about it and act like nothing happened. except you're not really acting, because nothing did happen that would change anything.
i like the friends that you can call up at three o' clock in the morning and they'll still listen to you drunkenly ramble about your feelings, despite the fact that all they want to do is sleep and you're not really helping that.
i like the friends that are close.
i like the friends that are far away.
i like the friends who you accidentally hurt, but forgive you for it.
i like friends who give you a hard time, but only because they know you're strong enough to take it.
i like the friends that become more than just friends.
i like friends who depend on you as much as you depend on them.
i like the friends that sometimes tell you exactly how stupid you're being.
i like the friends whose mere existence is a reminder that good things happen in the world.

like + like + like + like = love
i love my friends

that was pretty mushy. here's something to lighten it up.

dumb panda.