“Maybe our girlfriends are our soulmates and guys are just people to have fun with.”

When we form friendships, we’ll do anything and everything in our power to keep them intact. We’ll have each other’s backs, no matter what. We’ll lend each other a pad when the date comes unannounced. We’ll doll each other up if either of us has a date to go to. And sometimes, even just for the heck of it. We’ll even drink chai from each other’s lipstick-stained mugs.

When it comes to our girlfriends, we don’t hold back. But a lot of people think that women are each other’s worst enemies. Trust me, it is far from true. 

To prove our point, we asked some of our ladies to share with us their experiences when the world looked dim, but their girlfriends brightened it up. Here they are:

“After I called off an engagement and was really upset about how it affected my family, my friend Sneha was the only reason why I’d get out of bed every day. Every day as soon she’d wake up, she’d text me things like I love you, you can do this. Simple messages that just made me feel like I could get through the day.

Another friend let me stay at her house when my mom threw me out, even though she’d known me for just ten days.”

“After some very heartbreaking bunch of days filled with tears in which I was drowning, she pulled me out. I used to live with her. It wasn’t one day or two days, or a few pep talks. It was an entire process. She taught me how to take care of myself just by being around me, doing her thing. She wasn’t interacting with me at all points, but in a way, I was learning to give importance to myself. I had left all desire to dress up, to look good or even eat properly. I wouldn’t look at myself in the mirror for months.”

“But she made me take a leap of faith and do things differently even when I felt nothing like it. “You don’t feel happy now then why don’t you try something else. You may or may not feel happy again but you have nothing to lose.” These words changed everything for me. Slowly, but they did. I feel very powerful now. Even though I don’t live with her anymore, the impact remains, pretty damn smoothly. #WhoRunTheWorld-Girls”

“So, I was at an ex’s birthday party and I was not a big alcohol person. The ex was a big party/alcohol person so I knew there was going to be a lot of it.”

“As luck would have had it, I missed lunch that day and was totally empty stomach when I reached the party. The drinks started pouring in and before I could realize, I was drunk AF. Not make-a-scene-drunk but just could-puke-any-moment-drunk.”

“There were other ‘éxes’ at the party too and well, let’s just say this guy managed to remain friends with all of us.”

“We were shifting from one place to another and I was in a car with 2 other exes. Midway, I realized that I had to puke. I was embarrassed AF because I’d never been so drunk that I had to vomit. These two women made sure I was all right. They even shared their own drunken stories so I would feel less embarrassed about mine.”

“When we reached the other venue, they got me water, made sure I was well fed, accompanied me to the loo and helped me puke. We later sat in the lobby area and chilled together while the others danced inside.”

“If it wasn’t for them, this experience would’ve been a big nightmare really.”

“I’m one of those who tend to suppress their problems. Eventually, I would find a solution to my problem, but it’s just difficult for me to express it. For the longest time, I thought that I didn’t need anybody to help me out.”

“This went on till one drunken night when I spilled it all out in front of my best friend, only to realize that she dealt with her issues in the exact same way as I did. She would suppress them and think that she needed nobody.”

“We sat on the pavement till 3 in the morning just discussing our problems, fears and inhibitions. The point of clarity that came out of that one session would have taken us months to reach, individually.”

“That session was so relieving that now we have them after every couple of months. It’s like our own version of therapy. We laugh, we cry, we argue in those 2 hours, but we walk out content and with answers to the tiniest of problems.”

“She taught me that by expressing yourself, you just get stronger!”

“So this was back then when we were in Class 11. I had just moved to Jamshedpur and was so messed up with the people around me, their mentality, etc etc. Then one night, I called up my best friend and burst into tears. The very next day, she recorded the last song that we sang together on our farewell and sent it to me, just to cheer me up! And god did it help!”

“I was going through a very bad phase in life. From my job to my relationships, everything was fucked up. I would show up at work everyday but I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. I had major self-doubt issues too.”

“But my best friend was with me through it all. I would call her and talk to her for hours. She would come down to meet me at my office at least twice a week. And that was the only thing that made me happy. “

“One day, she called me and asked me to pick up something that she had got delivered. When I went outside, there was no one there. And out of nowhere, I see her standing right there, behind me. As soon as I saw her, I broke down. That was the best thing anyone had done for me.”

“There was a day when I was crying throughout because of some boy troubles. I wasn’t talking to anyone and was getting pissed with just about everything. And my friend stood there and took it all. She came to my rescue. That day, she said something that I can’t ever forget. She said, ‘He might be dreamy, but he’s not the sun.’ A dialogue from Grey’s Anatomy, I presume. But it worked.”

“That one dialogue still resonates in my head. My friend taught me that no matter what or who happens, I should never put anyone ahead of myself. That I am my own person and that I come before anyone. Since that day, there has been no looking back.”

“I was going through a rough time in my life. It was so bad that I left my job without resigning or serving my notice period. I just quit, left my city and headed to Delhi.”

“I called up my friend who was already working there and asked her if she could help me with a job. She referred me at two places. Since I had just moved, I was living with my younger sister. But one day, we had quite a nasty fight and I picked my bags and left. I called my friend and she opened up her house and heart to me. Another friend of hers was visiting, so both of them were just trying to calm me down. They even made me tea.”

“That one friend helped me find a place to stay and also helped me get a job. She basically helped me get my life back on track.”

“I was in college and crushing hard on a guy I knew from school. My best friend in college didn’t even know him very well and had just met him a couple of times.”

“Despite me being super nervous and dismissive whenever she suggested I do something about it, she kind of made an effort to be friends with him, initiated little hangouts for us all, and over time, pushed me to spend more time with him. I think that beginning, kind of forced by her, was a pretty big reason that I ended up going out with the dude for about 4 years after that.”

“The first night that my friend shifted into her flat was scary for her. Coming from an extremely protective family, she had never stayed alone. I couldn’t be with her but I remember talking to her all night long till we both saw the sun outside our windows, sitting in two different cities.”

“I was away from home, shit-scared after an incident that had just happened and extremely low on self-esteem. Though I was super-scared, I had to prove myself to my parents as well. So I never spoke to my sisters or my parents about what had happened.”

“I only had my one friend to fall on. We would go on long walks in the middle of the night. She would give me pep talks and it would help. When I became anti-social, she took me out and gave me a makeover as well. And man, does that thing help or what? This one woman helped me find the person I am today. And if she wasn’t there, I don’t think I would have recovered so fast. “

No matter how accomplished we are, we’ll always have our girlfriends to fall back on. And rest assured, they’ll always have our backs. Give a shout out to your girl, my friend! 

Lovely designs by Disha Bhanot.