On a More Selfless Kind of Friendship
By Claire Cordonnier Recently, I had the gift of making a new friend. We met at a party where both she and I liked the same guy; she confronted me about it immediately saying, “girlfriends before guys.” I remember being struck immediately by her openness and sincerity. The barrier of entry to our friendship seemed non-existent. One of my favorite things about her is her unbounded generosity. I think that people need to stop using the word “sweet” to describe everyone they meet, because it’s a word that is starting to lose its meaning. There must be another word for someone who lends you her clothes like it's nothing, compliments you genuinely on the things you care most about, invites you into her life, and shares her friends with you like it's the most natural thing in the world. I wish that more people approached life with her generous attitude toward others. As one grows older and enters the career space, one is increasingly tempted to view relationships with a transactional...