I got to thinking today about competition. And what better of a day for competition than Super Bowl Sunday? Competition can be exciting; you hope your team will win. But competition can also be draining. It’s those times when it is draining that makes you question why we fight for things. Do we fight for things because we want them? Or do we fight for things because we just want to win? I’ve always been under the impression that winning isn’t everything. And it’s certainly not. But fighting for something you desperately and hopelessly want is worth everything. I’ve come to learn that you must pick your battles. You must fight for those things that at the end of the day will be worthwhile and sustaining for you. That’s what competition should really be about. And go Giants! (Only because Donovan McNabb isn’t playing.)

I got to thinking about acceptance today. Sometimes you don’t get what you want. Sometimes things turn out in the worst way possible. And sometimes we are ambivalent to the way things turn out. But what I’ve realized is that acceptance is pertinent. You have to give things a chance. Maybe you won’t get into your favorite college or number one sorority, but you must give things a chance. That’s being a strong person. That’s being a confident person. After all, things may turn out to be better than expected. And if it’s not, then at least you can say you tried. Acceptance will liberate you because it gives you the opportunity to do what you never thought possible.

I got to thinking about friendship today. How do we know who our true friends are? Is it just a gut instinct?  Or do they have to do something to prove to us that they’re our true friends? I’ve always struggled with this concept. I’ve always held the belief: treat your friends the way you want to be treated. And I’m not a saint, but I can say that most of the time, this is how I have treated my friendships. So why don’t I get back what I give out? Am I doing something wrong? Or is it merely them?

I think that friendship is very important, but it’s also super scary. It’s way easier to get along with a crowd of 1,000 than just 1 person. We put ourselves out there every day hoping that we will get a friend in return. And sometimes we do; sometimes we don’t. But it’s in those times that we do when we feel like all the world can be conquered. One true friend can make you feel like the happiest person on earth.

With this said, I’ve learned not to tell everything to everyone. It can turn out unfavorably to say the least. But I’ve also learned that we don’t have to be “best” friends with everyone. There are friends for every facet of life.

Even though friends let us down, even though friends make us livid, we should always keep holding on. We should always remember that at the end of the day, a true friend is worth a million bucks.