Where I Have Found My Dearest Friends

I’ve been wanting to write about my lasting friendships for awhile.

Why?

Because I’m at a place in my life where my gratitude for things has been pouring out of me lately. I feel so blessed in many ways, and one of those ways is how fortunate I am to be surrounded and supported by my irreplaceable friends.

I’ve met my really close friends in both obvious — and not so obvious ways. 😅

Here’s where:

School.
Some of my closest friendships were formed way back when, in the very early days of elementary school. Still, to this day, we bond over those sweet and innocent memories — and now work and motherhood. To know that we have been through 30 years of life together, bonds us on such a unbreakable, meaningful level. (Even our families were/are close.) We are, at this point, very much so, family.

Then, in high school, I was lucky to grow my circle of friends to reach even more amazing ladies. We shared classes and chatted for hours about boys and our passions in life. We would spend so many nights together laughing and watching TV. Social media was just becoming a thing so when we hung out, that’s really all we did. We have traveled together and have been there through thick and thin.

Fast forward to college, and I continued to meet so many wonderful people through clubs, classes, work and just randomly around campus. Those connections grew deep because I lived at college, had a few incredible roommates and could turn to my friends through breakups, internships, studying abroad, and finding my path to an impactful career.

All of my bridesmaids were friends I met through my school years — elementary, high school and college. They know me. They get me. They see me for me. I really feel the most strong and lasting friendships are built on that personal, soul-to-soul understanding and acknowledgement.

Since then, these friends have seen me meet Sam, move across country, start my career, have children, buy a house… and pretty much ALL the things.

Work.
The next place I met some of my most special friends was in the workplace. From my first corporate job at SALMON Health and Retirement, to my early days as a Page in Los Angeles, to my role at CBS Interactive and then now at UMass Memorial Health. Each and every place I landed, I was lucky enough to find my people.

The workplace really connects people. You spend hours every day together. You share coffee dates, lunch breaks, walks, happy hours, meetings, parties, and endless conversations.

Over time, they became much more than “just” work friends. They became family, and I speak to many of them daily/weekly.

Gym.
Funny enough, some of my favorite people I’ve met has been through going to high-energy gyms/fitness studios — like One Down Dog (where I got my yoga teacher training) and 24 Hour Fitness (where I found my Zumba family in LA).

It’s so funny to think you can meet awesome people at a gym and then end up really loving them!

I’m hopeful I will find that again here (since moving back in 2020), as I’ve just started really working out more regularly again.

Groups.
I love being part of groups that matter, and when I became a mom, I found myself connecting with other young moms at groups like: Central Mass Mom, Nature & Nurture (Bolton), Newborn baby/breastfeeding/new mom classes (Pasadena, CA), my children’s daycare (their friends’ parents became my friends!), and even online Facebook groups like Mountaineer Mama and Moms & Munchkins. Heck, even on Instagram! 😂 In these spaces, I have met some incredible women, and even many working moms who know the day-to-day juggle I’m balancing with work and home life.

Within the last year or so, I’ve grown very close to a few lovely ladies who have enriched my world, given me new career ideas to consider, and have added so much value into my life.

Just when I thought I was “done making friends” in my early to mid-thirties, here came these sparkly gems, ready to give my life even more meaning.

When I stop and really think about it, all of these friendships are such a BIG part of my life. I love the laughter, care, love, and compassion that comes with it all. I don’t know where I’d be without my circle of friends. I am truly the luckiest!

To all my friends, near and far, who have always listened, shared, cared and consoled over the many, many years — thank you.

-Ari