Friends - Week 11 2/25/26 by Ranvir Thapar
“Pyaar, pyaar dosti hoti hai,” arguably one of the most famous lines from a Bollywood movie was delivered by Shah Rukh Khan in the blockbuster bollywood film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in 1998. It simply means, “love is friendship” (this was in response to one of his friends asking him what is love). For those who are unfamiliar with Shah Rukh Khan, he is India’s love guru. His timeless movies and unforgettable lines are still used to rizz up girls today (not that I’ve ever tried), but that’s beside the point
Friends.
We live in a world where technology dominates our lives. Almost every aspect of our lives exists online or is handicapped by it. Relationships are not. They are one of the few special things left untouched by technology, although one could argue Tik Tok and other such platforms are getting in the way of that as well.
I was scrolling through my instagram reel’s feed the other day and I came across a reel where a man was describing friendship and he said something that really stuck with me. He said you only need three friends, “one friend who can guide you, one friend who can pick you up when you’re down, and one friend who you can tell anything to, but if you’re lucky, you’ll find all three of those things in one person.”
The power of friendship. Yes we have love, an aspect of our lives that is romanticized in books, movies, tv shows, almost any kind of mainstream media or entertainment. But I think there is something special that differentiates romance from friendship. Friends are complicated, friend groups are even more complicated especially in high school. We live on the edge, constantly worrying about what people think of us and our actions that sometimes we forget who we are and what we like to do. It’s important to have people that aren’t stressful to be around, that we don’t have to constantly watch ourselves around, people who let us be free.
I’ve always believed that saying “I love you” on its own, holds no special meaning. It is an arbitrary phrase that unless backed by actions, amounts to nothing. But that’s how the most meaningful relationships are built. Through tiny actions, through those moments of freedom you feel with a person, deep conversations at three in the morning, the people you turn to when you’re really down under, that’s the most powerful love because not only is it a two way street, but it’s an unspoken, almost unbreakable bond. One of the best things junior year has done for me is reveal to me who my people are because even though my circle has shrunk I’ve never felt more free or happier.
Hey Ranvir! Romantic relationships are great and all (I wouldn’t know), but it’s hard to beat friends you can truly confide in. There’s a lot of talk about finding “the one,” the perfect person to spend the rest of your life with, but no one seems to apply this special treatment to friends. Friendships seem to be less fickle and much more long-lasting than most romantic relationships,
ReplyDeleteSometimes I feel like I take all my friendships for granted, forgetting that these people have made the choice to stay with me throughout these years. If it weren’t for these lovely people, I would have nowhere to express my worries without being put down or invalidated. Instagram reels can’t make me double over the way an utterly stupid but elite ball inside joke could.
I like your stance on the phrase “I love you” being so much more meaningful knowing that it can be backed up. It’s like that cherry on top, reaffirmation that doesn’t have to be affirmed, but it’s still three words that reinforce a relationship and make someone’s day. What makes those small actions even better is that from being in close contact for so long, it’s inevitable friends would be able to tailor their words and gifts, making each other feel special in ways that something like winning a competition never could.
While it is true that technology dominates our lives, I disagree with your statement about how relationships remain untouched by it. Technology has influenced human connections deeply. With the creation of telephones, suddenly long-distance connections can flourish. With the invention of planes, exposure to new people and experiences becomes much easier. Technology entirely changed the ability of people to form and hold onto relationships, so saying that relationships remain untouched by technology is untrue.
ReplyDeleteRomance and romantic relationships are often promoted by the media as the pinnacle of all love, the ideal for which all must strive and wish for, but friendship can be just as important. Love is a difficult and complex thing to navigate, especially when one takes into consideration that love is not always positive. The dark sides to love are often overlooked, but they should never be forgotten. Toxic relationships are things that exist, and the most often kinds of toxic relationships one sees are romantic relationships.
I agree that the words “I love you” in themselves do not mean much, but I would argue against entirely discarding this phrase as a whole. While it is true that without the actions to back them up, the words mean nothing, the phrase, when combined with actions, serves as an affirmation to those who receive it. The phrase serves as a reminder to the receiver that they have someone by their side, and that others care about them and their well-being.