Today I had a conversation with my friend about what we think life will be like after we graduate. "Will we still see each other?" I asked. "We'll be friends forever" was the response. I was pleasantly surprised by her optimism. I can't believe that we're more than half way done our undergraduate career. 5 years seems like a long time, but it's actually passing by really quickly. It doesn't feel like we've been friends for 3 years already. I don't get tired of spending every day with my friends. You would have thought that I'd get sick of them by now. 4 months of seeing them every day and then 4 months of maybe one or two meet ups. Then the cycle starts over and repeats until we're done our 5 years.
I think back to the friendships I've had in the past. How many times have I thought to myself that we'd be friends forever? How many of those friendships am I still part of? My first best friend ever was when I was in kindergarten. She slept over at my house a lot because my parents baby sat her while her parents were busy at work. We were really young then, so that's as much as I can remember. My second best friend moved away in grade 2. She also came over to my house quite a bit and we gave each other gifts. I cried when she moved. My third best friend I met in grade 2. We were both standing by the edge of a fence that separates the pavement from the grassy field above. I didn't have any friends since my best friend had just moved. I saw her asked, "Hey, are you a loner?" The funny thing about kids is that they're not afraid to speak what they think. She replied, "What's a loner?" ... and that was the start to a friendship that lasted strong until we both changed schools in grade 7. We still kept in touch, and I saw her every once in a while along with some of our other elementary school friends. But as the years passed, we hung out less and less, and eventually our interests differed so much that we lost touch.
I didn't want to make any new friends when I started in my junior high school. This was grade 7. I missed my best friend. We had a few friends who tried to keep in touch and still occasionally contact us. But it got harder once we didn't see each other 5 days a week. Eventually, I reluctantly made new friends at my new school. I was just too cool not to... Just kidding. I ended up floating around a few groups, so I wasn't ever really super tight with anyone, but I knew a lot of people.
In grade 8 my best friend and I had so many adventures together. We were both floaters, and we were both really different. But somehow, it worked. Perhaps it was because we both shared our relationship with Jesus. Perhaps it was because we experienced tough times and shared our vulnerabilities with each other and really cared for each other. We weren't just play buddies, we weren't just there to make each other feel less lonely. We actually loved and cared for each other as sisters in Christ. We stayed close friends throughout high school even though she changed schools multiple times. I guess by then we were old enough to take the bus on our own and hanging out after school was an option. We're the type of friends who can spend time apart and still be open and honest with each other when we catch up. It's as if time stops when we part. We are still friends.
I made another friend during my high school years that I still keep in contact with. She doesn't believe in Christ, but we've had lots of open conversations about love, life, and God. I think we understand each other in a way that we can both speak our thoughts and not be afraid of judgement.
After all the friends moving and after losing contact with so many people, I'm not sure at what point I realized that there is no such thing as friends forever. I may be wrong. I mean, there are still a few people I keep in touch with from before university. There are still some people I know I can always talk to and will want to catch up. I think there was a point in time where I realized that people won't always be there in your life. I haven't thought about this in a long time, but I think I still believe that God will put people in your life when you need them. Some people will walk with you for a long time, others will only walk with you for a few steps. The important thing is to cherish them while they are with you, and to enjoy every step of the way with them.
I think back to the friendships I've had in the past. How many times have I thought to myself that we'd be friends forever? How many of those friendships am I still part of? My first best friend ever was when I was in kindergarten. She slept over at my house a lot because my parents baby sat her while her parents were busy at work. We were really young then, so that's as much as I can remember. My second best friend moved away in grade 2. She also came over to my house quite a bit and we gave each other gifts. I cried when she moved. My third best friend I met in grade 2. We were both standing by the edge of a fence that separates the pavement from the grassy field above. I didn't have any friends since my best friend had just moved. I saw her asked, "Hey, are you a loner?" The funny thing about kids is that they're not afraid to speak what they think. She replied, "What's a loner?" ... and that was the start to a friendship that lasted strong until we both changed schools in grade 7. We still kept in touch, and I saw her every once in a while along with some of our other elementary school friends. But as the years passed, we hung out less and less, and eventually our interests differed so much that we lost touch.
I didn't want to make any new friends when I started in my junior high school. This was grade 7. I missed my best friend. We had a few friends who tried to keep in touch and still occasionally contact us. But it got harder once we didn't see each other 5 days a week. Eventually, I reluctantly made new friends at my new school. I was just too cool not to... Just kidding. I ended up floating around a few groups, so I wasn't ever really super tight with anyone, but I knew a lot of people.
In grade 8 my best friend and I had so many adventures together. We were both floaters, and we were both really different. But somehow, it worked. Perhaps it was because we both shared our relationship with Jesus. Perhaps it was because we experienced tough times and shared our vulnerabilities with each other and really cared for each other. We weren't just play buddies, we weren't just there to make each other feel less lonely. We actually loved and cared for each other as sisters in Christ. We stayed close friends throughout high school even though she changed schools multiple times. I guess by then we were old enough to take the bus on our own and hanging out after school was an option. We're the type of friends who can spend time apart and still be open and honest with each other when we catch up. It's as if time stops when we part. We are still friends.
I made another friend during my high school years that I still keep in contact with. She doesn't believe in Christ, but we've had lots of open conversations about love, life, and God. I think we understand each other in a way that we can both speak our thoughts and not be afraid of judgement.
After all the friends moving and after losing contact with so many people, I'm not sure at what point I realized that there is no such thing as friends forever. I may be wrong. I mean, there are still a few people I keep in touch with from before university. There are still some people I know I can always talk to and will want to catch up. I think there was a point in time where I realized that people won't always be there in your life. I haven't thought about this in a long time, but I think I still believe that God will put people in your life when you need them. Some people will walk with you for a long time, others will only walk with you for a few steps. The important thing is to cherish them while they are with you, and to enjoy every step of the way with them.
