An 85-year-old Harvard University study says that close relationships and social connections are key to happiness and a good, long life. Having supportive and nurturing relationships is a buffer against life’s stresses and protects overall health. The study’s director, Dr. Robert Waldinger, says good relationships “keep us healthier and happier.” The study talks about all kinds of relationships — romantic, platonic, in the workplace, with the people who cross your path in passing, with family members. But relationships can be hard. We need to be proactive and not just let things happen.

But how do we be proactive? How are we supposed to develop good relationship skills? We asked Emi Canahuati to lead a life skills class on relationships and to include information on how best to talk about our sexuality, a lifelong, natural and integral part of who we are as human beings, but also how wonderful relationships can be complicated by sex. Ms. Canahuati is a sexuality educator and holds a master’s degree in counseling. She owns a company, Talk and Thrive, committed to helping parents talk with their children about difficult-to-talk-about topics, including conversations about sex. But the Harvard study emphasizes that all kinds of relationships are important, not just those between two romantic partners. So for those of you who think you HAVE to have a love interest to be happy, the data says you just need to have friends — with some people needing just a small handful of friends, while other people thrive with a wide social circle.