What is a best friend, after all? Last year, it was about annoying friends but this year it’s about the concept of a BFF.

Friendship. How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst?

I often go through intense periods where I meet someone new—she or he becomes my new best friend. Perhaps for a week, maybe a month, then the intensity dies whether by circumstance, lack of energy, or other.

Then there are the few. Where we make an impression on each other. That for a few moments, we feel the click. You really do understand me! And then there are the moments of “ecstasy” where we are smiling, laughter, pure connection.

This year, I was surprised by someone. I rarely ever consider someone a BFF, because I don’t trust that anybody can consider me one—whether it’s an inferiority complex or my own high standards.

In middle school, a friend…gave me the BFF heart necklaces for my birthday. We called each other best friends, but were we? It was awkward because she gave me both—not taking one and leaving me to take the other. Perhaps I was supposed to offer one half to her, but I didn’t feel that strongly. We competed with each other throughout high school and eventually went our separate ways after graduation.

But this year in 2011, I had someone call me his BFF. Perhaps shyly…in nervousness that it wasn’t mutual. I was hesitant at first never trusting the whole idea of BFF. But I opened up, because I did need close friends. I needed someone to trust me openly, selflessly. And it felt good.