And, now you can learn more about how Girlfriendology came about.  Hopefully, it will get you thinking about the importance of your friendships.                                                                                                                        

Girlfriendology? What’s that?!

Guest blog by Debba Haupert, Girlfriendology.com

Allison, Dana, Jill, Katie, Lisa, Amy, Holly, Terri … just some
of the many reasons I started Girlfriendology. My friends mean the world to me.
They’re my chosen family, my confidants and advisors, they make me laugh and
sometimes cry, and they stand by me, like I do them, through thick and thin.

But where did it really start? (I get asked that a lot!) Maybe
it was moving around so much when I was growing up. I always missed my
girlfriends when we moved and wanted to stay behind to be with them. Perhaps it
was college and my roommates and friends with whom I bonded, grew and learned
life with.

But the specific point at which I recognized that I actually
needed my friends wasn’t quite so
fun. My college girlfriend Dana found out she had cancer. Then another friend,
Allison got the same diagnosis. Fortunately both are fighters and strong
survivors, but when that news first hit me – it hit me hard. It made me want to
spend time with my other girlfriends – to learn from each of them how to care
for my girlfriends who were facing fears I can’t comprehend. It caused me to
appreciate all of them even more. And it actually made me stop to consider why
my friends became so important to me.

So, I started blogging about it. I called it
“Girlfriendology” and I wasn’t sure where it would lead, if anywhere. In doing
some research, I came across a book titled: The
Tending Instinct, by Shelley E. Taylor. She shares amazing findings that
show that we actually need our girlfriends. These social ties actually help us
be healthier, happier and less-stressed. Men and women are wired differently –
we know that. This book shared what those differences are. One enlightening
example - men deal with stress with a ‘fight or flight’ response. Women respond
to stress with a need to ‘tend and befriend’ – we want to take care of our
young/children and to be with our friends.

Through the discovery process, leaning on my girlfriends was
exactly what I needed to do to survive. Along the way, starting Girlfriendology
gave me a way of acknowledging my girlfriend gratitude and hopefully inspiring
other women to recognize that too. Girlfriendology became the online community
for women based on female friendship. It created a home for inspiration,
appreciation and celebration of girlfriends. And, as it grows, women everywhere
tell me amazing stories about their best friends and how their friendships are
so special.

Do you have girlfriends that you appreciate? Have you told
them lately? Any special women in your life who have gone out of their way for
you and you would do anything for them? Celebrate these friendships on National
Women’s Friendship Day (Sept. 21) or for that matter, any and every day of the
year. Then stop by Girlfriendology.com and share your stories. Who’s inspired
you? Tell them! In the process, you’ll inspire others, and then they’ll be
better friends. We really can make the world a better place, one friendship at
a time.

Thanks Allison, Dana, Terri, Amy, Anne and all the other
wonderful women who have inspired me to start Girlfriendology and to cheer me
on every day with your support and friendship.