Nurture Friendships for a Healthier Life

(gentle music) "Headspace Studio." (light music) Hey, there. My name is Kessonga. And welcome to "Radio Headspace." It's a terrific Tuesday. Today, I wanted to talk about human connection, specifically the significance of friendship and the impact that one special person or a group of persons platonic or romantic can have on our lives. Those relationships that are so special because they make us feel seen and valued. So this topic came to me when I was going through some old boxes in my office. Now, I'm not a hoarder by any means, (chuckles) but I can admit that I do like to hold on to mementos, especially mementos that are from special moments in my life. As I opened this one particular box and paired inside of it, it was like I was instantly transported back to the summer of 1994. I can just pictured a flashback scene in a movie. (laughs) In the box was a certificate of achievement I had received from Cornell University. It was for participating in their National High School Summer School Program that they held every year for rising seniors in high school. The program allowed rising seniors from all over the country to take college classes during the summer term and earned some extra college credit. Coming from the Bronx Projects, it was just an amazing opportunity. It was my first introduction to independence before actually going away to college, and it was my first time away from the big city as Cornell is located in the beautiful mountains of upstate Ithaca, New York. In this box was also a picture of two guys named Pernell and Allen. They were both also from New York, Harlem, and Long Island respectively, and the three of us instantly bonded that summer. Even though I had just met them, it felt as though I had known them my entire life. We just clicked. It was the first time in my life that I felt completely comfortable with other dudes. We told each other deep secrets. We had deep conversations, and we felt thoroughly comfortable acting the fool in front of each other with no judgment. It was true friendship. It's wild because after the summer program ended and we parted ways, we never really kept up with each other. We hung out once in Harlem one night, but after that, I totally lost touch with Pernell, and I spoke to Allen, I think once back in '99 when I graduated from college. It's as if that friendship served its purpose just for that summer. To this day, I find that very, very interesting. I actually find the whole subject of friendship quite interesting, as my therapist would say, "Let's talk about it." (chuckles) The word friendship itself is a profound and impactful word. It's like it automatically invokes thoughts and/or feelings of connection, trust, and understanding. I personally think friendship is about finding someone who gets you, who accepts you without judgment, and who in...