A Letter to My Girlfriends.

There are friendships that become part of your childhood.

And then there are the ones that quietly become part of who you are.

We met when we were thirteen, all awkward girls trying to find our place in an all girls' boarding school in Johor. Somewhere between late night chats, exam seasons, hostel life, and growing up together, we didn't just become friends. We became home to one another.

Life eventually took us in different directions. Different universities. Different cities. Different careers.

But somehow, whenever we're together again, it never feels like we're catching up. It just feels like we've come home.

Last weekend, Lola and Atiq drove all the way from Johor Bahru so we could celebrate her before she begins a new chapter of her life.

We spent Saturday evening laughing over dinner, then the next morning gathered at Bloomies for brunch. Nothing extravagant. Just baked beans, scrambled eggs, sourdough, jumbo sausages, and the kind of conversations that somehow make three hours disappear without anyone noticing.

Instead of games, we wrote handwritten letters to Lola. The kind she'll probably read again years from now.

Each of us also brought along snacks that reminded us of her. Little things she always loved when we were younger. Funny how something as simple as a favourite snack can carry so many memories.

And because we couldn't celebrate at Bloomies without flowers, we spent the morning arranging them together. Watching everyone create something with their own hands somehow felt like the perfect reflection of friendship itself. Different flowers, different styles, yet every arrangement turned out beautiful in its own way.

As I looked around the table, I realised something.

Bloomies wouldn't exist without the people who believed in me long before there was ever a flower shop.

Lola was one of those people.

Long before there was a storefront, before there was a logo, before Bloomies even felt possible, she was the one who trusted my dream enough to lend me the capital to start it.

Sometimes, when people see a flower shop, they only see bouquets.

I see the people who helped build them.

National Girlfriends Day isn't really about buying flowers.

It's about remembering the women who stayed.

The ones who answered your midnight calls.

The ones who celebrated your wins before the rest of the world noticed them.

The ones who quietly believed in you when your dreams were still just dreams.

This year, that's who we're celebrating at Bloomies.

Not just girlfriends.

But sisters, best friends, housemates, colleagues, and every woman who's left your life a little softer than she found it.

If someone came to mind while you were reading this...

Maybe that's your sign to remind her how much she means to you. 🤍🌸