How to Fail: Everything I’ve Ever Learned From Things Going Wrong

by Elizabeth Day

A friend has not made a commitment, has not signed a contract or walked down the aisle and promised to love you until death do you part. A friend does not need to do anything or be anyone in order to make you feel better about yourself. Of course, the greatest friends do this anyway, but it is not their job and you should not expect it of them.

you know that no matter how many months have passed since the last occasion you met in person, real friendship should exist in an alternative space–time continuum which can be tapped into whenever necessary without any judgement being placed on either party.

People you considered the closest, most loyal, most intimate allies, will drift away from you and quite often, you won’t know why.

As I’ve grown to understand myself better, I’ve also grown to know which are the friends I can truly rely on in times of crisis and who want the best for me

most children are egomaniacs who imagine the world revolves around their every desire and whim, and who frequently misinterpret

Our failure as children (and it is an understandable one) is to imagine our parents exist only for us, when actually they have whole interior and exterior lives that do not permanently rotate around whether or not we want fish-fingers or cheese toasties for supper.