Different Types of Sisterhoods

By Susan “Honey” Good

I always wished for a sister. I watched and listened in my growing up years to the interaction of two sisters, my mother and her sister, my Aunt Essie.

Oh they were so different in personality and lifestyle interests, yet there was no one in the world who could break their bond of sisterly love. After all, they shared the same family, genes and upbringing. I would listen to them laugh and squabble. I heard them share secrets and give one another advice. At times competition and a multitude of sisterly dynamics ensued, but above and beyond all else, there was loyalty and adoration.

Girlfriends Are the Sisters We Choose

Alas, I am without a sister, but that has not stopped me from sharing myself with women who have become as close as kin to me. And, darlings, remember that girlfriends are the sisters that we choose.

Thinking about my sisterhood of close friends, I am beyond blessed by these women who grace my life in so many extraordinary ways. My sisterhood of friends is quite varied. Some give doses of inspiration, one New York friend pesters me to death, some are risk takers, one is a hypochondriac. Many share their shopping information, some listen and advise, others are role models, one shares all her information and tips and I love that because I share too.

Another is so wise. Quite a few have shoulders I can cry on one minute and laugh with the next. There are friends who update me with their gossip because I am almost always the last to know. And there are a few who are my chosen friends for everything.

Upon First Meeting

I read today that when two women meet for the first time, they each know within five seconds how they feel about one another. I thought about the statement and I believe it is true. Don’t you feel those vibes?

In writing about what I find attractive in my sisterhood of girlfriends, I know they each have their own beliefs, values and opinions. Nevertheless they mirror me in one way or another. And if I put all their characteristics together, they would make up a composite of who I am. This leads me to acknowledge that for any of us to have a sisterhood of friendships, we first and foremost must be true to ourselves!

Our Eccentricities Give Us Color

We all have eccentricities. Eccentricities are the parts of us that do not necessarily fit our familiar pattern.

My father was a businessman who dreamed of owning a farm. He loved nature and thus envisioned that he would become a gentleman farmer. He allowed his dream to be stifled. Don’t stifle yours. Like my father, we all have two sides that make ourselves whole. My father had his designation; he was a businessman. He also had a colorful, marvelous side: his dream to be a gentleman farmer.

Our colorful side, our eccentricities, are interests that don’t necessarily match our friends and family. This is what makes us unique and gifted.

Really Ask Yourself

What did you want to be when you were a little girl? Really think about it. Is it stifled within?

When your hidden desire becomes your reality, join a sisterhood with a community to match. This will undoubtedly help you on your journey as you encounter a new group of women while you seek out your desire.

Just a few days ago I spent time with a stranger while on my daily walk with America. Her name is Maria and I marveled at her. She is Brazilian and an interpreter who married a Swede and together, they live in Sweden. She is spending two weeks in America because of her work. I approximate she is in her 60s.

Remember to Unwrap Your Colorful Side

We all have distinctive characteristics that are colorful. We also have our taupe side: our stability. Oftentimes, our colorful side is kept under wraps; it lays quietly, dormant in our souls. Unwrap your colorful flair by joining a different type of sisterhood that will help awaken your burgeoning desires within you.

It is never too late to feel your bloom. Joining a sisterhood will enhance your lifestyle. Joining a different type of sisterhood will also open a new world.

It takes emotional energy and drive to walk a new path. I know because I am about to try. While I am exhausted just thinking about the challenge, I am also energized because I can imagine how I will feel after I go through the process of learning. I am going to become a member of a speaker’s forum. Through this experience, I will be meeting a different sisterhood of women who share similarities resulting from our aligned goal.

Seek out different types of sisterhoods and enhance your life by fulfilling a dream you have been carrying in your soul. Dare yourself to dare. Never retire your dream. And who knows, you may meet a new woman who in five seconds you realize will become a kindred sister.

Susan “Honey” Good is the founder of HoneyGood.com where this blog originally appeared. The site is a collection of lessons learned, life advice and insights from not only her, but from a fantastic group of contributing writers, each adding their own spice to the recipe. Honey Good.com representing “a family tree of women” — wives, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, mothers-in-law, daughters-in-law, sisters, aunts, cousins and girlfriends — coming together to talk about what makes them tick as well as what they have in common. Honey Good discusses life experiences with wisdom, humor and intellect, enabling all to attain a “Honey Good Style of Life.”