You got a friend in me

There are some people that you have in your life and you're just happy that you have them. You wouldn't exchange them for anyone or anything else in the whole world, even a million dollars or all the clean, safe sex you want for free (some people would?) Around the holiday season, I am more aware of these people in my life. I like to take a step back and just watch those that I love and respect. The people that can make my day without even trying and the ones that I can always go to when I have a problem. It's easy to love someone, but it's hard to stick around, ya know? You can meet a friend and care for them, but if that caring, fuzzy friend feelings stays, you were meant to be good friends. I look at those that I'm close with and I have friendships that go back as far as kindergarten and first grade. It's an insane amount of time when thinking about it...that's at least thirteen years. And to stay friends with them is miraculous. There are just some friends, I believe, that you were meant to know and keep for a long time. Without the long and short friendships, I dont know what kind of person I'd be, ya know? Granted I have a kick ass family that I love and they love me back, but the blood ties don't compare to the friend ties that I have made with a select few. My family supplied the lump of clay and shaped the foundation, but the intricate details that make me an individual, come from amigos. A good handful I consider my own family--and if we were actually family, we'd be dysfunctional, yet loving and totally kick ass. Talk about a partay!! I don't want to give names because when I list people and other people read it, and they're not on the list, they freak out and feel left out, so I won't do that. I hope that whoever is reading this knows who you are.

What I love about making new friends is, that if the fuzzy feeling stays, it stays for a long time. I'm happy when I get along well with people because that means a new person who will change my life and add zest to my lumpy and awkward (yet chillin) clay pile. There is a handful at Hofstra that is beginning to add their own colors to my blob (werd) of clay. Each and every person that I've known (both good and bad) has had a profound effect on me and I'd like to say thank you to everyone. In this reflection I can also wish that I've done the same for others. I suppose that I'm generally a decent human being. I dont know what exactly makes a decent human being, but I'll pretend that the qualifications are not eating ceiling fans for a midnight snack. hhhmm...eh? Anywho, I hope I've had the same impact on others (both good and bad) as they've had on me. If other peeps are lumps of clay too, what imprint do I leave behind that makes them who they are? How am I important to them? Why do they keep me around? I wonder about these things, but in the end the answers to those questions have no words--they can only be expressed through giggles and jokes, smiles and tears, hugs and punches...and good ol' fashioned love. Love is what makes us tick. Without a love connection to any other human being, what would be our function in life? Why would we stick around so long? Wander around aimlessly, eating, shitting and breathing? What good is life without love? It's a terrible emotion that brings about more joy and pain than any other, but it's essential like water and oxygen. We need love, thus we need others to love. I think the best kind of people to love are friends. Period.