Shelby Jones
Contributing Writer
In the spring of my freshman year here, I suffered a huge loss. My mom passed away incredibly suddenly and I was sent into a tailspin. I didn’t know what to do and felt the worst I’ve ever felt, even now. I had to take weeks off campus and wasn’t even sure I was going to finish the semester out. I had told my friend group what had happened, of course, and they all rallied around me to help me cope. Two of them even got together and pooled their money and made me a little self-care basket with face masks and coloring books and candy. It was incredible and so touching. I had never felt such a huge outpouring of love like that before. It didn’t take away the pain of losing my mom, but it made things feel at least a little bit better.
Skip ahead a couple years, and last April, I was dumped. The guy and I had dated for a year and a half, and I was a mess after the breakup. I cried for so long that my eyes were bright red all the time and dry and painful. Everything hurt and I barely wanted to get out of bed. Conveniently, Taylor Swift released “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” later that night, and I got to experience the album (and the vault tracks!) to its full effect. To this day, I have never cried that hard to Taylor Swift songs.
The day after the breakup happened, one of my close friends, who has since graduated, came to my room to borrow some craft supplies. Without me even asking, she had brought me my favorite coffee order from the C-Store. When I opened my door, she handed me the coffee cup and I immediately broke into tears. It was the smallest gesture, but exactly what I needed at the exactly the right time. And without her and my other friends, I’m not sure I would be in the place I am today. With their support and their love, I got over that guy and felt a lot better within a few weeks.
The point of these little anecdotes, besides talking about the benefits of using Taylor Swift to cope with a breakup, is to never take the love your friends give you for granted. I can say with my whole heart and complete certainty that I would not be where I am today after losing my mom or after breaking up with that guy without the outpouring of love and support from my friends.
Platonic love is the kind of love that defies any type of challenge or struggle. Platonic love is the type of love that everybody is going to experience, and honestly, is the type that is more important than any other kind. Platonic love doesn’t go away as easily as romantic love does; there are people that I was friends with in high school that I don’t talk to anymore, but I still cherish so deeply. Friends may come and go, but the love that you feel for them doesn’t.
When you feel like you’ll never feel love again, lean on your friends. Their love will get you through anything.