Monday, August 8, 2011

Friends of friends

When friendship day swung around this year, I took a while to think of all my friends, old and new. I tried to remember how I became friends with each person I could think of...

The past year has been one hell of a friend making year for me. I feel very lucky to be in a position in life where I meet new people almost everyday. And Ive just realized that almost all the people Ive gotten pretty close to, either for years now or just weeks, they almost all came into my life as a friend of a friend.

Friendship and love are the only two relationships in the world which we are in by choice. We don't get to choose our family but we do get to choose whom we are friends with. While we do have the option of being extremely picky about whom we befriend, Ive come to see that the best friendships are born out of going out of your way to be nice to someone.

Thinking back, I can think of a lot of instances which went like this. I'm stuck with a friend of a friend, someone I barely know. I have the option of really trying to get to know the person or just being civil for the short time we are stuck together. Ive always chosen the first option and today I'm sooo glad I did, because these people are among of my closest friends.

I see a lot of people who don't mingle with people they think is below their "league". People who go to a party only for the food and booze and not the company, and I feel sorry for them.

Its easy to just stay in your comfort zone, stereotype people you barely know and decide that you've got enough friends and you dont really need another one. Its harder to make genuine conversation with a friend of a friend, harder to care about what they are saying, but who knows if this person is someone you'l still be talking to 50 years from now? Heck I wouldn't have met my husband if I had decided that I have enough friends and don't need another person to talk to.

Happy friendship day, to all my dear friends who've touched my life and made me smile, and friends of friends who are going to make smile a little more.