One of my dearest friends got married recently and I flew all the way from Finland to the US just for the wedding. While I was there I realized that I had known her for the least amount of time compared to the rest of her friends. They all were from grad school, from college, even middle school. Consequently, I had spent relatively less time with her, had fewer memories shared with her. But this did not mean I loved her any less than the rest of her friends who were in the room. And it certainly did not mean she had had any less of an impact on my life. In the space of a year she has wedged into my heart and become one of my best friends. Comparisons are dangerous because it is easy to think less of yourself when looking at the shiny exteriors of other people’s lives. In this case, however, I realized that the amount of time I had known her didn’t matter. Whether it be a few months or a year, a few years or a decade, the amount of time does not determine how much of an