Friends Are A Lot Like Glue

This post as been in the works for a while now. I've sort of shared this before, and I'll say it again, I take "brainstorming" quite literally. I toss an idea in to the cyclone of other ideas that are spinning around in my brain and wait until the storm clears to see the final picture. I don't write things out on paper (although once I begin writing I do hit the backspace button a lot), I don't make outlines or brain storm like most people do. I literally let the thunder roar and the rain pour.

So with that being said, I've been sitting on this post for some time because unlike the other ones- where I have a general idea and break it down in to smaller thoughts- I've had a thousand microscopic thoughts that were not creating the "big picture", in fact, they were no where close. But, last night I had what I will call writer's revelation and what I needed to write about was, literally, right in front me.

It all started because of a math problem (in this case, math was useful). Our math assignments are done online with unlimited opportunities to complete a problem. So I sought out a friend who is in the same class that I am and told her I was stumped. We found ourselves sitting in her room for over 30 minutes trying to decode the mystery of this math problem (we eventually figured it out). After that, our conversation spun from math to something much, much deeper than math: life.

One thing that God definitely blessed me with was the ability to talk! But not only did he give me the ability to talk, but to speak. When I talk, people listen. When I speak, people really listen. 

So after our conversation began she asked me some questions about my own life, things I believe, and things that matter to me. For the next two hours I spoke to her about relationships, moms, God, and children with disabilities. I told her about the characteristics of what a Godly relationship looks like clear down to what to expect on a first date. Anytime I spoke of something that made perfect sense to her she'd smile and chuckle and tell me she knew exactly what I meant. She explained  to me her passion for children with disabilities and I was able to tell her my experiences working with children with Down's syndrome, autism, brain damage, and epilepsy. Throughout all this, I wasn't sharing knowledge, because I truly don't believe I know everything (yet), but instead I was sharing insight, advice, and having what, to me, is the perfect girl talk.

We didn't sit and gossip about other people. We didn't sit and complain about things (such as the 4 hour bus ride we will be on tomorrow as we head for track regionals; which, might I add, would be very easy to complain about). Nothing about our conversation was negative. Our "girl talk" wasn't your stereotypical girl talk. It was much, much deeper than that.

For those of you getting ready to start college, whether it be this year or the next or the next, that fear of "making friends" that you have, throw that fear out of the window. Now this isn't as simple as it sounds (to simplify this I'd have to write a whole different blog post), but, you won't make friends in college, you'll find friends. I found this friend of mine. I didn't "make" her. I didn't force her to be anything she's not or conform her to my ways of living. I found her, just as she was, and became friends with her because of it. She thinks a lot like me. And I think that's what has made us such good friends.

So go find your friends. There doesn't have to be a lot of the them, but I promise you, no matter where you end up in this crazy world, there's at least one. Don't "make" a friend, but accept a friend. Friends are a lot like glue: you can stick with them, but if you touch them and move them around too much before they're dry, they won't stick anymore. But if you wait, and give them time to dry, they'll be stuck.

Go for the friend who is willing to have untraditional girl talk with you. Or the friend who truly allows you to be yourself. Go for the friend who pushes you to be wiser, kinder, and more courageous. Go for the friend who is just as passionate about this crazy life as you are. And once you find that, you'll never be without a friend.

Here's to wishing your friends are like (dried) glue.

Xo,

Ashley