A Love Letter to Friendship in All Its Forms

by Sanusi Sophia

There is a quiet magic in friendship—and it’s not the “Harry Potter" kind. I mean the kind that transforms shared silences and stolen glances into a language of its own. The kind that makes you wonder, “How did I ever live without you?” until you remember you technically did, and suddenly that old life feels like someone else’s story.

This kind of magic doesn’t need wands or spells; just time, trust, and the occasional shared crisis over burnt popcorn at 2 AM. And the truth is? We've all lived it. We all carry stories of the people who walked beside us or walked away.

The best friend who knew your silence better than your words. The one who left without an explanation, leaving you to piece together the fragments of what went wrong. The group that felt like home until Time pulled you in different directions. This piece appreciates friendship in all its forms. Walk with me.

The Ones Who Stay

Some friendships are built to last. They weather storms, distance, and time. These are the people who don’t just celebrate your victories, they sit with you in your failures, making even the darkest moments feel lighter.

You don’t need to explain yourself to them; they already know.

But even these bonds aren’t invincible. Love this deep requires care, because losing it would break something inside you that doesn’t easily heal.

The Ones Who Leave

Let's be honest. Not all friendships are meant to last forever, and it's okay. Some fade naturally, like sunset melting into dusk.

And others end very abruptly. Because while love trumps all, there are certain kinds of betrayals, slow drifts, or words that can never be taken back. These goodbyes can hurt more than romance because “friendship breakups” don’t come with scripts. There’s no societal permission to grieve them, even though the absence aches.

And yet, these endings teach us about resilience, about the kind of love we deserve, and about the courage it takes to walk away from what no longer serves us.

The Ones That Change Us

There are friendships that shape who we are, sometimes without us even realizing it.

The mentor who believed in you before you believed in yourself. The chaotic, hilarious group that would forever make you think back with a nostalgic smile. The toxic friend who drained you until you learned how to say enough.

These connections, even the painful ones, mold us. They show us our capacity for forgiveness, our boundaries, and the kind of people we want—or don’t want—to become.

Every friendship leaves a mark, even the ones that got away too soon. Some are soft imprints, while others are like deep grooves—scars that remind us where we’ve been.

But they all matter. They all teach us something about love, about trust, about what it means to be human.

That’s why we’re asking for YOUR stories.

The ones that make your heart swell. The ones that still sting.

The ones that taught you a little something about friendship and yourself.

SPARK, our annual digital magazine, is dedicating this year to the beautiful, messy truth of friendships, and we want to hear yours! Because the truth about friendship is that it’s never just one thing.

It’s joy and grief, comfort and chaos, memories and lessons, all woven together into the story of who you are.

Dearest Reader, What's Your Story?

Chronic Events

• SPARK, the official APSoUL magazine, is closer than you think! Our theme for this year is: Threads & Ties: The Friendship Issue.

• Got a story about a long-lost friend, or those friends who’ve become more like siblings to you? Well, we want to hear it! Submit your story to SPARK here and get featured.

In The Lab

• Looking to work with APSoUL? We have an amazing team of creative minds who are eager to meet you. So, if you’re a creative (writer, photographer, video content creator, videographer, graphics designer, or video editor), send us an email at WorkWithApsoul@gmail.com or reach out to any member of the APSoUL admin team to get started.