I grew up in a small town and attended an all-girls school from 7 to 17. Looking back, the most valuable thing I gained from my formative years is my girlfriends. At 37, I still have the same core group of friends from primary school that I can rely on even if I live halfway across the world from them. 

Now it's easy to think our friendship lasted because we have the same values and upbringing. It may have been the case when we were younger. Over the years, I watched my friends go through different periods of their lives and eventually formed identities of their own.

Yet, the friendship is constant. We are still there for each other, and all of my closest friends have outlasted my most profound romantic relationships.

I often wondered why until I uncovered the reasons in a conversation with one of my close friends.

• The reason why we are still friends is that we accepted each other wholeheartedly and unconditionally.

• Even when one of us changes, we don't flinch. We adapt. We choose to understand instead of judge.

• And most importantly, there are no expectations of what the other person should be.

And I firmly believe that is why friendships often outlast romantic relationships.

I am convinced that if we were to apply the same lens to our significant other, romantic relationships would be more durable to stand the test of time.