My Friends, They Are So Beautiful

With TV shows that I watch, sometimes I see a trend in what I enjoy the most.

They all seem to have something in common. They all center around a tight circle of friends who do everything together. 

However, I can't help but wonder -

Do circles of friends like this really exist?

I haven't decided yet if they do or don't. However - there are a few things about friendship that I do know.

- More than likely, you are only going to have maybe a couple of "life long" friends. I have two friends (who happen to be sisters) that I have known my entire life that I actually can say that I am really good friends with. One or two from elementary school that I talk to on a semi-regular basis. A small handful that I keep tabs on through Facebook. It's a stretch for me to say that I even have one or two people from high school that I consider a really good friend today. I used to think this was a bad thing. However, it's not. 

Just because a friendship doesn't last 20+ years doesn't mean that friendship wasn't important or valuable. People come and go out of our lives. I think God puts the people we need in our lives at certain times. Sometimes they stay, sometimes they don't. They are all beautiful, special, and important in our lives. 

- Friendships change. I've learned this lesson over and over again since graduating college. I had probably as close as you could get to the "TV model" of friendship when I was in college. Then we all graduated and went our separate ways. Thankfully, I'm still friends with several of these people. 

However, our friendships have changed. There are some people who we were somewhat close back then, but now we can barely go a single day without calling each other. Some of them I might see once a month - or maybe even once a year.But we've learned to change and adapt to the different "versions" of our friendship - and it works.

- You don't need to live close to each other in order to be friends. This is another lesson I've learned since college. When you live in the dorms, it's hard to imagine being in different states from the people you used to be able to just walk down the hall to see. However, it's possible. There are people in my life that I haven't seen in a year, maybe more than a year! But they are still my very close friends. We talk so often that I feel as though I see them every day. 

- Internet friends CAN be your friends. When I used to hear about people who had friends online, I kind of thought that it wasn't legitimate. Now I wish I could put my foot in my mouth. The people I've "met" through blogging, 20sb, Love Drop, Love Bomb, etc are amazing. Most of us may have never met in "real life", but that doesn't mean they aren't legitimate friendships. These people know some things about me that a lot of my "real life" friends don't. Granted, if the ONLY people you talk to are online, then that's a problem. However if you have a mix of both, that's okay.

- To make new friends, you have to go out of your comfort zone. I used to be able to make new friends left and right. In college, I knew pretty much everyone. Or at least knew their faces. (Although on such a small campus, it wasn't hard to do.) Moving to a new state, it was a lot harder. I had to make more of an effort to meet people. I have to go places where I may or may not know anyone. I have to try new things. I'm glad I've had these experiences. When I first tried out for the local community theatre, I was really nervous.  I'm so glad I did though because I met some of my closest friends here in Missouri and been introduced to other people too. My social circle now (which isn't all that big) compared to last year has grown because I stepped out of my comfort zone.

- Making friends is easy, keeping friends is hard work. It is one thing to be able to introduce yourself to someone and have a conversation with them. But to actually stay friends beyond that initial conversation, that's hard work. Some people might argue that social media makes this easier, and in some cases it really does. But stalking someone on their Facebook profile doesn't count as keeping a friendship. It used to be easier when I was in school We saw each other in classes and hung out after. Easy. Now, even with the friends I have here in town, we have schedules, jobs, families, commitments, etc. With my friends who live farther away, we all have to make a genuine effort to call/Skype regularly, meet up those rare chances we have, and to keep tabs on each other. 

- Through it all, it's 100% worth it. I love my friends. The ones who are close, the ones who are far away, those in my past, those in the present, and the ones who "live" in my computer. Each one of them bring something different and special to my life. I know God has put the right people in my life at certain times, and I'm so blessed! There are times I really long for the group of a few people I can hang out with all of the time, and maybe that is in the making or in my future. But friendship doesn't have to look like that all of the time. 

That's this month's theme: Beautiful Friends.

I want to know about your friends! Who are they? What do you do when you hang out? Who is your best friend? What are your views of friendship? What makes a good friend? I want to know!

Email your contributions to lovewokemeupthismorning@gmail.com

Also- let's link up with Meg this week for Mingle Monday! :D