I’m 30, and my best friend is 75. She’s shaped how I approach relationships.

• My parents introduced me to my best friend when I was 19, hoping she would be a good mentor for me.
• Now, more than 10 years later, I consider her my best friend.
• Despite our 45-year difference — or perhaps because of it — we’ve learned so much from each other.

Heartbroken after . I’ve watched her embrace it glamorously over the past decade, always wearing clothes she’s made herself: wool coats, silk dresses — you name it.

Recently, before undergoing surgery, her surgeon took it upon himself to offer to “wipe grease” from her face, to which Gill replied, “I’ll have you know that’s a $200 bottle of Dior serum on my skin.”

She learned to paint in her 60s and continues prioritizing her well-being with weekly yoga, Pilates, and coffee mornings with her gal pals. Through osmosis, my confidence thrived throughout my 20s as I modeled my independence on how Gill lived her life. Prioritizing my career, always maintaining separate bank accounts in relationships, and having multiple hobbies and interests — these are all things I value, thanks to her.

Intergenerational friendships, like mine with Gill, can broaden your worldview and offer an emotional richness that only comes from someone with real-life experience.

At its core, friendship is about accepting each other as we are, yet we’re often quick to judge. Had Gill and I done that, I would have missed out on one of the most defining friendships of my life.

When we first met, I was graduating from college, one of the most pivotal phases of my adult life. Now, as I navigate a relationship that spans continents and have moved away from Gill to find new roots, we continue to support one another, even as our circumstances shift. I look forward to seeing how our friendship will continue to evolve, and, if the fates allow, I hope to be someone’s Gill one day.