‘I love you’. Three little words that hold an immense feeling and significant meaning. The power of these words cannot be underestimated and saying them or having them said to me is a big deal. However, I don’t believe in reserving them just for a significant other or family. I’m not saying that the words should be thrown around as this could devalue them, but I also use them with another group of people in my life: my friends.

Written by Megan Gaen

Disgraceful Contributor

Friends are people I care about deeply and whose input I value in my life. They are another constant like my family, so why should they be excluded from hearing these words? I do love them. They mean the world to me and I couldn’t imagine my life without them. They deserve to hear these words.

Some people believe though that those three words hold too much importance to be said to anyone except a partner, but I don’t totally agree with this. I agree with the sentiment that they carry a lot of meaning but who says only people in a relationship can exchange them? 

For me, saying these words to a significant other is a big deal because it is a milestone and something that shouldn’t be rushed. It represents a deeper emotional connection. I believe the same about saying ‘I love you’ to friends. I won’t just say this phrase to all my friends, but my best friends hold such significance to me that I know they deserve to hear that I love them.

In my life, there have only been 5 friends close enough to me for me to say ‘I love you’ to, and not just in a jokey sense when they bring you your favourite chocolate or buy you a pint. These people are the ones in these photos, some I’ve known for years and we end our phone calls by saying those three words; the others I met in the last year but our friendship has become very strong as a group in this time.

I’m grateful for all these people in my life and I hold them to very high esteem. They deserve to be loved and I love them. Yes, this is a platonic type of love, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t strong or worthless. Knowing that I have this caring feeling for my friends and it is reciprocated means I know what love really feels like. Therefore, in any future relationships, I will make sure it is real before saying those words because thanks to my friends, I know what love feels like and I know the people who deserve it.