What my mama taught me about building lasting authentic relationships

My mom is the type of person that can have friends and relations for a very very I mean very long time. Over the years I have definitely become more of an introvert, and begun to realize how much of an extrovert she is. I can vividly remember many times I went to new places for work, and mom would always have a connection there, whether it was some Aunty, or Uncle, a long lost family friend they were a phone call away. I always say my moms relationship as a teacher is what saved us during the 10 year civil war in Sierra Leone(another story for another day). One day on our usual family chats, my brother mentioned "Mom you have a gift of networking and you do it so effortlessly" I realized this was true. There were many a time I benefitted from my mothers network and took it for granted. The more introverted I become the less I care to be around people, or more energy I need to conserve. Thanks to my mom I am learning to balance this whilst still maintaining positive relationships. I asked her to share some of her thoughts on my blog and she was thrilled. See her post below
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Relationships can be defined as friends, school, college, neighborhood, family etc. It is a small world and there are different ways we get connected to people. People with different characteristics, pleasant, caring, friendly etc. On the other side not everyone has good intentions. Some people may have jealous feelings about you, some may be unfriendly and have competitive spirits etc. 

As the world rolls around, we  move either close to them in the diaspora and far away because of un-controllable circumstances. Here are my 3 tips for building long lasting relationships with people.

1. Reach out to people once you form relationships: Depending on your character if you are a loving or caring person, reach out no matter where the person lives. Now the technological world has  made it feasible to find out about friends and relatives who live far away.

2. Reach out when fundamental things happen in a person's life: Whenever something happens as far as a life event and you find out through someone else or directly from the person you should reach out! Whether it is a happy or sad situation in life.

3. Develop the gift of giving or sharing: Remember it is not about what you give but the thought of giving. In our culture in Sierra Leone we have a phrase we call "adjoe" which in a sense is showing concern for someone by showing a token of appreciation, concern or love for e.g. send a hand written note, sending a bag of rice before the Christmas holidays, etc. The idea of Adjoe is not about the quantity but the fact that the person knows you are thinking about them.

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Mommy front row second from the right and her teacher colleagues in the 1980s at British Independent Preparatory School, Monrovia Liberia.