Snow Sunday: The Power of Women Friends

30 Jan Snow Sunday: The Power of Women Friends

My daughter came home in tears from school. Girl drama, as we call it, apparently strikes earlier than it did when we were young. She’s only in the first grade, but already the social hierarchy and personality conflicts are starting. It’s a long, slow, and painful process, but what I want her to know is that it all has a happy ending. Because at some point in the future, she’s going to know who she is, and she’s going to have a group of women friends that give her strength and support.

How do I know this? Because she’s a girl. As girls grow up, they evolve into women, and as they evolve, they make connections with other girls who help them develop into the person they will become. Some of those connections turn into lifelong bonds of friendship. It’s a little like a card game; it all starts with a shuffle, but eventually in your hand you hold the cards that are most compatible. There’s some drawing, some discarding. By the end, you have a good hand, with all the cards that work best together.

I’ve ended up with an amazing hand, a network of women friends who have given me everything—I am who I am in part because of the things I’ve learned from (and experienced with) them. I’m so grateful for my friends. They have been like oxygen to me. I want to share this beautiful TED talk with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda talking about the power of women friendships, because it is so touching, and so true.

Here’s a shout out to all my female friends, from the random girls you chat with in the bathroom, to the ones you know you can call at any time when a crisis strikes, and everyone in between. My life is better because of you.