Growing up with three brothers, it wasn't always easy for me to make friends with girls. When I was a kid, my kindergarten teacher told my mom to arrange more girl playdates, in order to help me.
Girls face so many challenges that boys do not, which can complicate female relationships. Just yesterday, Adam and I had a conversation with a soon-to-be father who told us how excited he was to have a girl, that he considered it a great honor to raise a happy, healthy, strong girl in order to offset the world's social imbalances that make life harder for a girl.
I realized in my 30s, that one reason I was so intimidated by friendships with girls, is because girls are often more intuitive and sensitive and observant than boys. I grew up hanging with boys, with whom I could sit on the couch for hours watching sports, and they would hardly pay any attention to me. Whereas girls would ask questions, look closely at me, and seek a more personal connection. They had a wisdom and discerning capacity for compassion that I knew existed in myself, and quite frankly frightened me a little.
To this day, I consider it one of the greatest gifts and most supreme compliment if a smart, cool, kind girl wants to be my friend. And I am so grateful for the girlfriends I have made in my life.