Friendship

Like air, and water, like pizza too in fact, friendship is critical to my life. Maybe even a little more than pizza actually, and that's saying a lot. In four days I have alternately been drenched, sun-bathed, worked over, and imbibed more than I can say for the past two months. Coming down off of the push that was mid-terms this semester has been natural, pleasant and remarkable. Mostly because I didn't even realize the shit-stress-fucked-over-eat-my-own-brain for breakfast phase I'm just coming out of even WAS mid-terms until it was almost past. It took a classmate whining about how much mid-terms were kicking her butt for me to ask, "Are we in mid-terms right now?" Wide eyes and suspicion all around, believe me (oh he must not be taking a full load...)

At any rate, friendship. How do we make friends? Why? Once we are friends with someone, what perpetuates it, lets it continue to grow and persist in a way that few intimate relationships in my life haven't even come close to? Couldn't say really. At least not beyond reiterating the fundamental precept to how I attempt to conduct myself. That being that at each turn of life, I strive to be straight with myself and those around me. It isn't easy, and it doesn't always go smoothly. I make choices that seem considered and rational at the time, only to discover that in fact they were quite dumb and sightless later on. Hence the old hindsight cliche.

Point being that in life, I think, a friend is someone who not only understands this about oneself, but has experienced it and therefore can sympathize. Growing up is such a pain in the ass, and just when I think I may have got it at least partially right, wrenches start appearing in the works. I think maturity can be defined as how well one deals with the wrenches. Shave and haircut, that's my two bits.