One of my favourite things about my friends is that we don’t agree on everything.

Sure, we align on the basic things — like not being an asshole, and having overall compassion for the rest of humanity — you know, the general things that make someone a half-decent person.

But with many of my friends, even some of my closest, this is where things end. The nuances of our views and opinions differ. Sometimes these differences are subtle, and sometimes not. The important thing is that we don’t agree on everything all of the time.

I don’t want to live in an echo chamber.

And today, with social media, Reddit threads and Discord groups it takes effort to avoid falling into a group you align with in every way. And I get it. When everyone you socialize with shares the same beliefs, you never have to question yours. This is a comfortable place to be.

But without that questioning, you lose perspective. You believe wholeheartedly that your beliefs are the only way.

Having friends that you trust, who you can also disagree with, will cause you to look at things from other perspectives and see things in ways you might otherwise not.

Some of the best conversations I’ve had with friends in recent years are the ones that involve a lot of wine and deep conversations that go late into the night — over polarizing subjects in which we have very different viewpoints.

What I love so much about these conversations is that we both learn and grow from them.

Having friends that you can disagree with, without affecting your friendship, is one of the greatest goals in life.