Musings on Friendship

First off, what is friendship? Yeah, I know… sounds like a stupidly-simple question.

But is it? No one person, even between just two people, can decide if the other one is friends with them. If we’re honest with ourselves, we absolutely grapple with that uncertainty. We grapple with it every time.

In romantic relationships, that’s why there’s always “the moment.” The one, defining moment where one asks the other… “Are we going out?” Or you know… “Am I your boyfriend?” Or “Am I your girlfriend?” Or “Are we going steady?”

There has to be the olive branch… and the build-up of tension… and the asking. Otherwise, it’s not honest. Otherwise, the answer isn’t official.

There’s only a celebration when both agree.

What a celebration it is, too! But that’s just the beginning. Whether is the romantic or platonic sense… that’s just the agreement that binds them.

So it’s a connection we all make, over and over again. And in times of great change, we can be pushed to forge that new connection dozens of times in a week.

It’s funny how every friendship is unique, but hopefully the same underneath. It gives us a chance to confide in another while being there for them in return.

So it’s a give-and-take. A back-and-forth. That’s the beginning of friendship. But is this all that friendship is for? That’s a big question. One I should get more into later.