Rachelle PalasotaThere are few things in this life that make it worth living. Out of those few, every single one of them involve relationships. Family, friends, husbands and wives, children etc.. These relationships are not just a basic human necessity but they are essential for us to find meaning, purpose and so much more.
One thing I noticed years ago was the lack of female friendships in my life. I remember working around women all day long, learning so much from them and truly enjoying getting to know my customers. But I realized that I didn’t know how to make new friends and maintaining the long-distance friendships I had was always put on the back-burner. It wasn’t enough to have girl time once every 3 months.
I started to research female friendships and I realized that not only women my age, but at many ages felt the same way I did. Digging deeper into this topic I learned why both scientifically and socially female friendships are essential to women.
When women get together and have authentic relationships, our bodies react in a healthy way. In fact, a chemical called oxytocin is released which reduces stress and helps us fight disease! Also, in many cases, women with cancer who have a strong support system of girlfriends are much more likely to beat it.
From a social perspective, most of us can understand how female friendships reduce stress in our lives. I can recall so many occasions where I have leaned on my girlfriends for support through difficult times and them being there for me changed everything. I think about so many memories full of laughter, crazy escapades, and surreal moments that would not have been nearly as exciting without them.
After realizing these amazing things about female friendships, I asked myself why so many of us have a lack of them in our lives. First, when things get hard, women tend to neglect our female friendships (when this should be the complete opposite). Then, as the world becomes more digital and “scroll heavy” we have less and less human contact, spending much more time isolated somewhere on a computer. Lastly, friendships are about supporting and sharing one another’s lives, giving to one another, which is counterculture to our self-driven society.
Amiche got started from this idea of getting back to the basics in friendship. We believe it is the small things, like having tea during a mid-day break with your girlfriend, meeting up with her for a movie, or just calling to say hello. We fight to put our to-do lists down and simply meet up for a few laughs. After all, how you can deny the feeling of love and support you have when you’re driving home?
Prioritizing female friendships and making room for them in our lives is a very simple and fulfilling thing. We are building a community of women who support female friendships with us by wearing and gifting our pieces as a symbol of love and support, through connecting and building each other up, while also inspiring one another to better maintain the friendships we have.
I hope you will join us in recognizing the power of female friendships in your life. I promise it will be well worth it.