It's been awhile since I posted in this... heh. Much has happened since May! Graduation, Taiwan missions, the Olympics. (currently watching recorded US vs Korea women's vball semifinal match) Though each of these events contain many stories each deserving to be told in itself, the one that I want to tell right now is of friendship.
I have to admit after graduation I was feeling just a bit down. A lot of my friends were leaving, and seeing as my closest ones are all in the class of 2012, I really didn't know what to make of the coming year. Sure I have friends in my own grade, and I love them lots, but... they're not the kinds of friends who ask me how I'm doing, or listen to my problems, or even invite me to birthday parties (though I have to admit that most of them don't have birthday parties to begin with haha) Growing up I have always made friends with those older than me, and as a result, never really put in the time or effort to truly develop relationships with those my own age. When we were younger it didn't matter, but in recent years the experiences that we shared grew fewer and fewer, and consequently it became harder to relate to each other.
And then I made a friend.
When I went to Taiwan missions, I thought I would be too busy to build any lasting friendships. I know we'd be working most of the time, and within our own group, so I thought I wouldn't have the chance to meet any new people, to say even less of people that I could actually befriend. But this year we ended up staying at a local church, and as a result, were able to work day and night with the people there, and ended up forming deep relationships.
Okay basically to cut the long story short I finally made myself a best friend heh. Haven't had one since Nicole and our elementary days, and I don't really count that cause we were just kids. But I met this girl (who's my age, finally) and we just really clicked. She's the kind of person who's super shy (as in sits in the corner and gives one word answers to direct questions) but once you get to know her, she opens up. One of the sisters at the church told me that even though she's been going to the church for 2 years now, I'm only the third person she's opened up to - the first being her music teacher who brought her to the church, and the second being the sister who told me this. I'm the first of her peers ^^ And we were already good friends at that point, but that just made me determined to hold onto her even more.
I just feel so blessed that I finally have someone who cares about me as much as I do about them... always reaching out, never taking in, it gets tiring after a while. I love how she asks me how I'm doing (and really wants to know the answer), how hearts and smiles and laughter fill our conversations, how we give and take advice readily as needed. I like feeling needed, feeling special. She makes me feel that way. We share our lives, our dreams, our problems - nothing is too trivial or too serious. Now I really get what Carly Rae Jepsen was saying in her song, "Before you came into my life I missed you so bad" - my friend has filled that hole that I didn't know that I had, and now that it's full, I finally feel complete. And I know that there are people out there who may be smarter, kinder, more talented, but I wouldn't trade any of them for my friend, cause she's one of a kind.
Time, distance, language - none of these are true barriers. The only barrier is a closed heart.
