Greater Good · 244 days ago

Issa Rae on Friendships That Need to Go, From Imo

Imagine sitting across your thoughtful friend at a cozy café, and they dive into this story about friendship, expectations, and the art of showing up. Recently, Michelle Obama, alongside her brother Craig, took on the subject of friendships, shedding light on those moments when we fall out of touch and the pain that sometimes follows. The duo was joined by the talented Issa Rae, who shared her own journey with friendship breakups, noting, "It was one of my most painful friendship breakups because it wasn't acknowledged." Their discussion meandered through the nature of male and female friendships, highlighting how women often dive deeper, investing their entire emotional being, while men's friendships tend to be more surface-level-transactional, even. As Michelle put it, for women, friendships are less about the act of doing and more about the art of being. In an age where screen time often competes with real-time connection, this conversation was a gentle reminder: friends are like mirrors, sometimes reflecting our best selves, and other times showing us where we might fall short. If you've ever worried about being a 'good' friend, maybe it's about taking stock, as Issa suggested, "write a letter...let that person know...the door is still open." After all, life is long, and friendships, like seasons, ebb and flow.