Andrea | How to be your own best friend

Andrea has arrived, and she’s ready.

When I asked her what advice she would give other women, she said, ‘Become your own best friend.’

By being her own best friend, Andrea knows that she can comfort herself through loss and celebrate herself through joy. She knows that she can accompany herself on the journey through life, and tackle challenges head-on.

No matter what, she’ll still be standing at the end of the day.

To be your own best friend means to treat yourself with the same love and compassion you show others. Ask yourself how you’re doing, and really listen to the answer. Greet yourself with warmth when you get home after a long day, give yourself hugs. Use kind words of encouragement when speaking to yourself about your hopes, dreams and failures. Above all, try not to berate or harshly judge yourself.

We’re all born into a system; a family, a society, a way of being and doing. For the most part, we’re destined to repeat patterns modelled for us in our early years, unaware of what we’re doing or why we’re doing it. Breaking that mould isn’t easy, but women like Andrea are taking on that hard work and saying, ‘No. Not any-more.’ She refuses to live her life according to a manual, written long ago.

Andrea is also a visionary, and she’s becoming the leader she was born to be. Like many so-called ‘bossy’ women, Andrea speaks her mind, which some still find confronting. The idea lingers that women are supposed to be quiet, good girls who accept things as they are and don’t ask for more from life. Andrea isn’t like that. Instead, she challenges what’s in front of her and lives by this quote by George Bernard Shaw, ‘Some people see things as they are and say why, I dream things that never were and say, why not?' 

Speaking personally, I know I’d far prefer a friend like Andrea, someone who whips things into shape and can be relied upon to tell the truth. A compliment from her holds so much more weight as I know it’s coming from a place of sincerity, a value often lacking in modern-day interaction. So if you’ve ever been told that you’re bossy or too loud, take it as a compliment — it means that you’re a strong woman who’s threatening the status quo.

I see Andrea as a woman who is unafraid; she holds her fears in one hand and embraces risk with the other, and she manages to stay calm in the face of tumultuous change, thanks to an inspirational faith in herself and in life.

After I gave her her portrait, she said that a quote came to mind that was said to her recently during a Sound Healing Session, ‘Bless her joys, and bless her sorrows,’ (Andrea Huber) .

Andrea's Feedback on reading her story:

"I want to say a huge thank you for this - for the whole experience. It really is something special ❤ I feel honoured to have been a part of it.

It felt a bit weird (weird like nice and new, a bit unexpected) to read something like this about myself. I know we talked about it (in many different ways and occasions) and everything is based on the things I´ve actually said. Nevertheless, it feels like I´m the queen of the world when you write it. In a good way. Like, I know all the things that I said (well, most of them) but when you put it together it sounds like magic. Thank you for listening and seeing me."

Have you learnt to be your own best friend? Join the conversation over on Substack.

If you are interested in learning more about Soul Signs or if you'd like to learn more about becoming a client, get in touch here.

If you would like to see more of Andrea's portrait experience, click here.

To view other Soul Sign portraits and read about more remarkable women, you can find:

Fatma's portrait here.

Onesta's portrait here.

New here? Hello, I'm Tamzin, and I'm an artist, writer and mentor. You can learn more about me by heading to this section of my website.