Look for the ones who keep it real, and aren’t afraid to share. To share their struggles, and their secrets, and their very best recipes and skincare secrets. Look for the ones who keep it real and value being genuine over everything else.

The ones who make you feel less alone in the chaos and more normal in the madness.

Look for the ones who keep it real and aren’t afraid to get vulnerable, and open up their ears, their heart, and their home. The ones who save you a seat at their table and are willing to learn, and apologize when they mess up. Look for the ones who keep it real with their messy, and their difficult, and their weaknesses—the unfiltered side of the lens so few are willing to admit exists.

In a world where so many people stay fickle, and take the easy road, and back off when hard topics bubble up to the surface, look for the ones who keep it real and prioritize the truth. Look for the ones who call you on your crap, and give you good advice—the kind of advice that stops you from acting like a jerk or helps deter you from making a huge mistake.

The ones who don’t just pat your back and tell you what you want to hear all the time, but the ones who tell you what you need to hear. The ones who welcome you exactly as you are, but never let you settle for being only a portion of the person you’re capable of becoming.

Look for the ones who keep it real and keep it authentic. Always. The ones who don’t put on a fake front, or stay splashing in the shallow end of conversations with pleasantries and words that don’t hold any meaning, but the ones who dive headfirst into the good stuff, the stuff that makes you feel less alone, and makes you come alive.

Look for the ones who keep it real and breathe life, and grace, and room to be yourself into the relationship. The ones who know you inside and out, and give you the benefit of the doubt when everyone else is turning their backs. The ones who believe the best in you, and want the best for you.

Look for the ones who keep it real and aren’t intimidated by others’ success, or jealous by others’ happiness. Look for the ones who keep it real and stay away from comparing, competing and tearing other people down hoping it will help them look taller. The ones who know you don’t have to push others into the mud to climb the ladder, and there’s no excuse for petty drama, or destroying someone else’s reputation just to have something to talk about.

Look for the ones who keep it real and boldly step up to the plate when it comes to doing what is right.

Look for the ones who keep it real. They’re the ones who will be there when life gets crazy, and the skies get dark, and they won’t make you tiptoe to stay on their good side, because all the have is a good side. They’re not phony. They’re not fake, and they don’t pretend.

They are ones who will be the same kind of friend when you’re standing next to each other as they are when you walk out of the room.

They’re the ones who will encourage you, and love you, and spur you in the right direction. Look for the ones who keep it real because they will give you plenty of freedom to be yourself as well.

Look for the ones who keep it real and keep going back to them.