When I was a little girl, making friends came very naturally. I would go right up to my potentially-new-friend and say, "Hi! My name is Rea, what's yours?" Always, the other person would introduce themselves in response. Then either, I would share my favorite color, which would become the launching pad for endless conversations about other favorite things, or I would ask them if they wanted to play. And after even just an hour, we would feel like we had known each other our whole lives! Making our next encounter even more meaningful and solidifying.
Between all the moving, uprooting, transitioning and adjusting, making friends has gotten progressively laborious. For me, it's always those first couple of conversations that are the hardest. Rather than just being, I tend to over-think everything. Somehow my experiences of being ripped away from the places and people that have become the comforting familiarity to which I attributed my sense of belonging, has left a long-lasting scar. And every time I make a new friend, I feel an ache under that scar.
But we are resilient beings, and though making friends no longer come very naturally to me, I have not completely lost that ability. Today I am grateful for friends. For childhood friends that first shaped my understanding of the importance of acceptance and inclusion. For friends that have walked with me on this journey, sharing in monumental milestones. And for current friends that make every step along the way, that much richer. Thank you.
Between all the moving, uprooting, transitioning and adjusting, making friends has gotten progressively laborious. For me, it's always those first couple of conversations that are the hardest. Rather than just being, I tend to over-think everything. Somehow my experiences of being ripped away from the places and people that have become the comforting familiarity to which I attributed my sense of belonging, has left a long-lasting scar. And every time I make a new friend, I feel an ache under that scar.
But we are resilient beings, and though making friends no longer come very naturally to me, I have not completely lost that ability. Today I am grateful for friends. For childhood friends that first shaped my understanding of the importance of acceptance and inclusion. For friends that have walked with me on this journey, sharing in monumental milestones. And for current friends that make every step along the way, that much richer. Thank you.
Day 15 of Cultivating joy through 20 days of gratefulness.