Friends

Friends - we all have them, we all need them. They are the people that listen to the drama in our lives. They are the people that put smiles on our faces. They are the people that give us a reason to go out on Friday night. They are the people that make tomorrow better and yesterday a good memory. But how well do you know your friends? To say I have known someone for 5 years has a new meaning to me. Granted there is something different about a friend versus a significant other, but why is it we feel those significant others may know more about us than our friends ever will. Is it because they cared more to pay attention? Is it because they spent more time with us? Don't get me wrong, I have spent 10 days straight with a person, yet by the end of that time, you are annoyed with a friend and you feel comforted to have spent that time with your significant other. Does that make any sense? Because in all logic, a significant other is just a friend.

If you asked me how many of my friends keep journals, I could make a random guess, but I wouldn't have a clue how to answer that. I write. Mainly when I have things on my mind, but I also write nonsense. I write about the rain, the sun, passion, love, smiles, sadness, I write about anything I can think of. But I bet most of my friends don't know that. To say you know someone well is a funny thing. In these days where people can lead double lives very easily. Just because a phone rings, doesn't mean you have to answer it. And some people don't. The Internet is another story. Ever try to search for yourself on Google and see what comes up. Maybe nothing will, but there again, maybe there is something there. Funny thing is, you would never know unless you tried. We post information about ourselves on the Internet. Sometimes with our real names connected and other times with an alias so that no one really knows who we are. Is this in a way a double life? How do you really get to know a person? At what point do they become more a friend than an acquaintance?

I have a known a guy for almost 2 years now and about a week and a half ago I was told that we shouldn't talk at all anymore. I would have counted him as a friend, however his comment was acquaintances or whatever we are. Where is that line drawn? Granted we all do the how-do-you-dos? What is your name, where are you from, where did you grow up, what do you like to do, what type of music do you listen to, but isn't that all basic information. You could read that off a post and make a judgment if you so desired. Again I come back to what constitutes KNOWING someone? Do you only truly get to know someone by the experiences you have with them? Or is what they tell you enough? Then comes the question if you don't know them at all, they could logically tell you anything and you would just have to take it for the truth. Is that part of the get to know you game? You have to take everything someone says as real until you can make your own judgments.

It is funny when you talk to people you haven't talked to for a while. These "friends" only get to know the big things that happen in your life. Those people that you talk to every day get to hear the nonsense that goes on in your life. Is one better off than the other? I am 22 years old and I have lived for over 8000 days. Kind of funny when you put it into perspective like that. Most of the time when someone asks me what's going on, I say nothing. Perhaps I should just start giving them random facts about my life. Granted it isn't everyday that something "exciting" happens, but typically we learn something new every day and we share moments with people. Is that enough to be news worthy? Or is this the boring grind that people don't really want to hear about?

To my big question, how do you really get to know someone? What is it about a person that makes them more desirable to spend time with than another? What makes your best friends, best friends? Is it because you have known them the longest, share the most in common, or is it more than that? Do you share the same beliefs? Do you enjoy the same things? Do you have the same goals? Think about it.