Tell It To Me Tuesday - "friendship"
First I have to say that I can't believe it's already Thursday. This week has been insane, and it's not getting any better, but I really wanted to participate in this week's Tell It To Me Tuesday.
This week's theme was friendship.
Friendship is such a tricky endeavor. I'm not sure there has ever been a time in my life where I have taken friendships for granted. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I moved every two years until I was 11. I knew how important friendships were. I cherished the ones I had that were true. Moving to the town I now live in back in 1987 was rough. This was a small town, and in some ways it still is. We had always moved to places that were fairly transient. We lived in Guam for two years before moving to Northern Nevada. Guam was a place where there was diversity and differences were lauded instead of looked down upon. This town I live in was very small and very static. There wasn't a lot of people moving in and out. It seemed that families had known each other forever - at least "forever" in my 11-year-old mind. I didn't have a real friend for two years. I was an outsider who didn't fit into the right mold.
As an adult I have tried to be a good friend. Sometimes I have invested poorly in relationships with people who weren't as invested as I was. These experiences taught me to be more guarded with my heart. I didn't love and give freely out of fear.
Today? How do I see friendship today? Friendship is a two-way street. I can't call you my friend if I'm doing all the work. I can call you a friend if you have proven that you are reliable and honest and willing to put forth the effort. And over the past year I have learned that you can have awesome friends all the while never having met face to face. This bloggy world? It's kind of like having a bunch of penpals in the "olden" days. People who are there to support you despite your differences. People who you can count on to share your joys and troubles.
I am proud that my definition of friendship has evolved over the years. It affords me the opportunity to be a better friend myself.
This week's theme was friendship.
Friendship is such a tricky endeavor. I'm not sure there has ever been a time in my life where I have taken friendships for granted. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I moved every two years until I was 11. I knew how important friendships were. I cherished the ones I had that were true. Moving to the town I now live in back in 1987 was rough. This was a small town, and in some ways it still is. We had always moved to places that were fairly transient. We lived in Guam for two years before moving to Northern Nevada. Guam was a place where there was diversity and differences were lauded instead of looked down upon. This town I live in was very small and very static. There wasn't a lot of people moving in and out. It seemed that families had known each other forever - at least "forever" in my 11-year-old mind. I didn't have a real friend for two years. I was an outsider who didn't fit into the right mold.
As an adult I have tried to be a good friend. Sometimes I have invested poorly in relationships with people who weren't as invested as I was. These experiences taught me to be more guarded with my heart. I didn't love and give freely out of fear.
Today? How do I see friendship today? Friendship is a two-way street. I can't call you my friend if I'm doing all the work. I can call you a friend if you have proven that you are reliable and honest and willing to put forth the effort. And over the past year I have learned that you can have awesome friends all the while never having met face to face. This bloggy world? It's kind of like having a bunch of penpals in the "olden" days. People who are there to support you despite your differences. People who you can count on to share your joys and troubles.
I am proud that my definition of friendship has evolved over the years. It affords me the opportunity to be a better friend myself.
I'm so glad you posted because this is such a beautiful post! I love what you said about bloggy friends and how we don't necessarily need to see people face-to-face to be "good friends" - in every way those words imply.
ReplyDeleteIt's true, Kirsten, as I just found out in my struggle to accept the deployment of my firstborn Army son. We make many wonderful friends through the internet that we might never, ever meet face to face. I don't know what I would have done without the love and support of amazing bloggy friends like you.
ReplyDeletethankfully it doesn't mean the same as what it did when we were just starting school! :)
ReplyDelete