New friends and old acquaintances-turned-to-friends.
By nature, I'm a fairly extroverted person. Perhaps I do not seem as such in large groups, but in more personal, intimate situations, I find that talking to other people is easy. I like listening to other people's stories, even silly or seemingly trivial ones. I like asking questions and finding out information. I think that learning is one of those things I should always be doing for the rest of my life. It means that I will never become complacent with how things are and will never be resigned to merely accept things.
As with most people, though, I got caught up in the "hierarchical" rules of high school. I tended to be a bit of a floater - I definitely had my core group of friends, but I socialized (at least in school) with lots of people from other groups. That's not to say I didn't dislike a lot (read: most) of my classmates, but I liked experiencing different types of people. That being said, there were a lot of people with which I was familiar, but never really became friendly. It wasn't that we had anything against one another; we just stuck to our respective groups of people and that was okay.
Today, I went out to dinner with Amie and Patty from work. Amie and I have been friends since I started working at the company, after we both discovered that we were female nerd gamers. There was one day that I was having a really, really hard time, and had a bit of a panic attack (which I have every so often when I feel isolated) and asked if we could hang out after work, and she obliged, no questions asked. She hugged me and said that it was okay, that it would be okay, and that we could hang out and do whatever. She brought me to her home, let me play with puppy, and took me to get some iHop. I went from feeling desperately alone to feeling like I had really, truly found a friend. Patty and I went to high school together, and it was by a chance of fate (and a temp agency) that she started working for the company three months back. I didn't know much about her except the circle of friends with which she associated back in high school, but we've already gotten closer since she started working with us. It's now the three of us that go on lunch breaks and hang out after work.
I am grateful for my willingness - and for Amie and Patty's willingness - to make new friends, even at the risk of being hurt and/or left. I am grateful for the expansion of me and Amie's already-established friendship and the transition from acquaintance to friendship between me and Patty. I am grateful that we are all relatively normal people who genuinely care for one another. I am grateful that I am comfortable enough around them both to share things that I would probably otherwise not share. I am grateful for disgustingly greasy food that tastes almost sinful. I am grateful for old friends who have never let me down, even though we may not talk or see each other as often as we used to. I am grateful for the kindness and generosity of others. I am grateful for how friendship seems to make this whole thing called Life just a little bit easier.
