Friendship Academy

I woke up this morning really feeling crappy but knew I still had to go to a Stake Activity for the Activity Day girls. It's my calling. I literally rolled out of bed and got dressed and had to drag myself and Ryleigh there. The theme was "Friendship Academy". They taught 6 different classes that the girls rotated through about friendship.

One class was on "Respect" - things like how to earn respect and who deserves respect and that a true friend will respect you and your standards or values and would never ask you to compromise them.

Another class was on "Family" - how some of your best friends are are in your family. How to foster the relationships with them at a young age, even if we don't think we could ever be friends with them. It will pay off when we are adults! Ain't that the truth!

Another class was on "Skills" - the skills you need to be a good friend. A listening ear, helping hands, a watchful eye, a sincere smile, a sympathetic shoulder, and lastly a caring heart.

Another on "Moral Strength" - Peer pressure, both good and bad.

Another on "the Golden Rule" - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

And finally "True Friends" - The difference between an acquaintance and and a true friend. We will always have a true friend in Jesus and our Heavenly Father.

They gave these girls a lot of great information on each of these topics and with each class they finished they got a charm to put on a charm bracelet. I was so glad I went, it really made me reflect on all of the great "True Friends" I've had throughout my life. Ones who were good listeners, who built me up instead of brought me down, who kept me on the straight and narrow, who helped build my testimony, who never asked me to compromise my standards, who laughed and cried with me, who I knew I could depend on no matter what. All of these things made me who I am today! You know who you are, and I want you to know how grateful I am for the friendships we had and still continue to have. Every class I sat through, I thought to myself "yep, those are the kinds of friends I had." In our ward, this is what we try to push most with our girls in Activity Days. Because we believe that if you have good friends you can make it through anything. I'm so glad I got myself out of bed this morning to go to this! It was awesome and very well done! Perfect for what these girls need to hear.