Growth

Where is the point at which you become friends and not acquaintances? When does the word "best" begin to precede "friend"? What is the defining moment of a relationship? Why do friends who were once so close begin to drift apart until there is no way to repair their bond?

Today I realized that I am at a point in my life where I hardly identify with the group of fine young people I was so close to in high school. Rather, I have new friends with different goals and interests, and we "click," just as my old friends and i "clicked" five and a half years ago as freshmen in high school. We have all changed. We have grown apart. I don't know when this all began, but I discovered tonight that we have all experienced different things in the time we have spent in college, and that because of these varying experiences we are all very, very different people.

It's alright, though, that we have grown apart. The key is that we have grown. Growth is important in all aspects of life. As time passes and we grow older, we also grow in maturity and stature (well, for most, anyway), and into the people we were meant to be. We meet all types of people in college, stick to those who either challenge us in a way we cannot ignore or are so like us that we are convinced we were meant to be. We make many friends and many more acquaintances. We have our drinking buddies, our booty calls, our study buddies, and the brave souls who are willing to be seen with us in public under any condition. Some of these people will remain with us beyond college. Others will not. All, however, will somehow impact us. They will become the reasons we decide not to study and to party instead. They will become the reasons we meet future friends. They will be the reasons we graduate and enter the "real world." They will be the reasons we succeed and somehow maintain our sanity. These friends, like our high school friends, will also aid us in our transitions into the next chapters of our lives; the difference, however, is that these friends have similar ideals, goals, and priorities.

Looking back, I can hardly remember what happened in high school, but I will never forget the people I was with through it all. I feel as though I will be able to say the same after graduating from college. Life is not about the moments; rather, it's about the people with whom you spend those moments. Let's spend a few moments together.