Friendship 101: Everyone is Not Your Friend

Eddie D. Love is an author, speaker and life coach.

By Eddie Love

While growing up in the Mississippi Delta, my mother taught me a lesson that’s had a resounding effect on my life and has definitely proven to be true. “Everyone is not your friend,” she would often say in a low tone. My mother used these simple words to teach me that real friends offer emotional support, hold you accountable, and genuinely have your best interest in mind. Like most people, I have relationships that I place sentimental value on and others that just exist for whatever reason. This is why you must be careful which relationships you apply the term friendship to! In this article, I have broken friendship down into three levels, which I hope serves you well on the winding road of life.

Level One

There are times when you don’t talk to these individuals for long periods of time, yet you love them unconditionally. This bond is one that cannot be broken by time, distance, situations, or people!

Level Two

Maybe you currently work together or shared a life changing experience, either way you feel better when this group of friends are around! In the words of the great Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you said, they will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

Level Three

These individuals get invites to the cookouts and fill in when Levels 1 & 2 aren’t around! It’s funny running into Level 3’s in public though; you exchange phone numbers for the 10th time before realizing that their number is already stored in your phone.

Do you find truth in my mother’s words? How much value do you place on the word friend? My philosophy on friendship is simple; you should be able to look into a mirror and see the reflections of the people closest to you! If you don’t see the reflection, it’s time to surround yourself with a different group of people!