[Celyn]

I have very few close friends and we've all gone through stuff in the last few years and some of my closest friends aren't online that much or don't reply for a while for whatever reason. I try to be as understanding as I can. I do have other friends that, while I'm not really close to, I should make more of an effort to check in with from time to time.

I also like sharing funny pictures or things that made me think of them sometimes. I'm not the best at that though and I worry that I don't 'give' much in friendships.

But then, an alternative thought I have, is that my giving looks a bit different. I'm known for sending long messages so if a friend wants to really talk about something, I'm more than happy to listen and send a detailed response back to them, even if takes quite some time to type!

Over the years, I've also struggled with opening up to others because I feel like I drag them down or I'm a burden and they don't need me bothering them etc., but I'm starting to realise that my friends do actually want to listen to me and do want to be there for me...it then dawned on me that by not opening up, then I'm keeping them at bay and denying them the chance to be there for me. So maybe, one of the gifts I can give my friends is to show that I trust them and value our friendship by opening up to them and let them help me....which is a rather ironic gift when you think about