A TOAST TO FRIENDSHIP

Cling, cling, cling, please may I have your attention. I would like to make a toast.
I wish to express my profound gratitude to all the people in my life I have called and to those I continue to call friends. It is indeed true that some friends come into your life for a reason and others for a season, but irrespective of the way or the reason for which you became my friend, I wish to say thank you.

Despite what you may see now, I once was a very shy kid with very little self esteem. I was moulded to this epitome of social status by an old friend; Mr. Danny Blue. He taught me the essence of standing up for my own and he made me believe I was the coolest kid on the block. He taught me the need to stay fashionable both for myself and for the ladies. I practically went from a video game freak to a basket ball star overnight. Finally, he was the architect behind my first dose of the love potion. So for that, Mr. Blue I raise my glass and say “to friends who bring love”.

As you may already know, with stardom comes trouble and trouble came by the name of Mr. Wan. Not only did this cunning creature teach me to grow my new found confidence, he also helped me discover the mischief in me. Hahaha! How we had a good time. From two-timing girls to planning how to deflate the Headmaster’s tyre, Mr. Wan and I did it all. So to Mr. Wan wherever you are, I raise my glass and say “to friends that brought me trouble”.

Then there are the friends you hang out with. Those you share jokes, secrets and basically a bottle of Hennessey with. I call them the friends by night. Johnny Kwest is one such friend. J.K will do everything to lighten up the mood, from a pint of beer to puffs of weed; J.K will subject himself to whatever in order to make your moment. That notwithstanding, Johnny will always come through for you. If you got into a club fight, J.K was leaning over your shoulder punching your attacker, if you needed some soft loan J.K knew who to call and when you were too drank to know who you were going home with, J.K will remind you of whom you say I love you to every night. So to Mr. Kwest, I raise my glass and say “to friends who have got your back”.

How could I have forgotten Mr. Fante. He has been around since forever. Though he remained silent through my rights of passage, he will be the one I will call BEST on my wedding day. He is the one you call an investment partner. Want to double your returns? Call Mr. Fante, want to be reminded why you are here on earth? Call Mr. Fante and when push came to shove and you needed some one to count on rather than Family, Mr. Fante was always there to help you through the thick and the thin. So to Mr. Fante, I raise my glass and say “to friends who should have been brothers”.

You know in life it gets to a time when you simply need to get serious and find the torch that will navigate you through the sands of time. Well, Rabbie was and continues to be a true friend in that department. “Sha” as I affectionately call her did not only bless me with a life-long partner but directed me unto my career path. Oh! Yeah, how could I forget, she helped me graduate Uni. Though she thought she was merely introducing me to another friend, she introduced me to maturity. I found love, a career, life and a constant razor sharp tongue to cut through the lies I continue to tell myself all in Sha. So to Rabbie, I raise my glass and say “to REAL friends who bring out the best in you.”

I know by now the champagne is going flat so I will end my toast by saying “Be courteous to all but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is enlisted to the appellation”. - George Washington

Kindly help me say “TO FRIENDSHIP”