New Theme: Something about Friendship
What is the difference between friend and best friend? When talking about best friends, many people use the phrase: we share everything. (or some type of this sentiment). That's great and all, but my best friend and I don't share everything.
My sister is 3 years and 9 months older than me. At different times of my life (or of the day) this becomes either 'only 3 years' or '4 whoooole years'. We shared a room from the time I was 1 until I was 12. She used to hide in various locations of our room and jump out and scare me. Like every good little sister, I tried to return the joke. But no matter what I did, my sister always knew when I was hiding. She would walk into the room and say something menacing like, "if you don't come out right now I'm not going to play with your hair ever again." And so my game was always over and I came out, probably pouting. The kicker, however, is that I didn't even like it when she played with my hair.
When she was in highschool, we would go on walks and she would tell me about her friends and her drama. Even though I was 4 (whoooole years) younger, she still listened to my opinions. We would stay up late watching cooking shows on TV and making up silly songs and jokes.
When she left for college, we started emailing and calling. I love going back to look at these old emails (I actually have the one from 6 years ago when I asked her what facebook was!). About 5 years ago, she was home for the summer and we were watching "Dirty Dancing". The movie starts out with the main character saying 'it was the summer that everyone called me Baby'. And I jokingly told my sister that I wanted everyone to call me Baby that summer. Ever since, she has called me Baby.
I'm really close with my family. On top of the fact that I so respect them, what they stand for and what they stand up for, we've shared so much. My siblings and I especially have so many experiences in common that we have a head start on normal friendships. Jokes go back for years. References require no explanation.
I don't share everything with my sister. I don't have to. The thing about best friends, is that you know each other so well, some things don't have to be said out loud. Using words to express your feelings or share a story will always be only a translation of your thoughts and emotions. But best friends can read you better than your translation.
I believe that all good relationships take work, but I like the idea that the work involved in great friendships does not lie in explaining each detail of your life; rather, it is in looking between the lines and identifying your friends' emotions.
I can't think of a way to wrap this up nicely (which I sooo like to do), so instead I'm going to leave you with a few questions about friendship to perhaps give you inspiration for the week of blogging:
Who is your oldest friend? Your newest friend? What causes conflict in your friendships? How does friendship morph into relationship? Can exes be friends? Who is a friend that has taught you a lot? What do you look for in a friend?
Happy Thursday,
Elise
ps. I'm on break next week, so I'm going to be throwing things out per the challenge. I think I will take pics to document. Perhaps I will vlog...
My younger sister and I have that same connection! I used the ownership of a teddy bear as leverage (time and time again) to work my will on her young, want-to-please-you-so-much self. Sometimes it really is more about what you don't have to say.
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