Friendship... Above All Else...

In my interactions with friends (those who are both close and abroad), family, and everyone in between, I've come to the realization that I talk... A LOT... Those who know me, know of my love for the opposite sex. To make this a bit more clear, I'll quote Brian Fantana from the movie: Anchorman, "Don't get me wrong, Ed... I LOVE THE LADIES!" However, there have been occasions where I have become attracted to some of my closer friends (who were girls, just to make that clear), and I have witnessed that such an attraction can jeopardize my friendship with said girls.

They always get away...

I have a close friend. Her and I have been good friends since our days in high school together. This girl will remain nameless, albeit, I'm sure she'll know who she is if she reads this blog.

Let's call her Jessica...

In high school, as our friendship blossomed, I began to have feeling of attraction towards Jessica. One fateful day, I expressed those feelings to her and she replied by saying that those feelings were not mutual; we were just "friends." I was hurt but nevertheless, I didn't want to jeopardize my friendship with her. Luckily, I didn't scare her and we remained friends. For the 2 years that I served as an LDS missionary in Virginia, we kept in contact through letters and e-mail. Upon returning home, I reestablished contact with Jessica and we began hanging out again.

In our many insightful conversations, we have discussed why it is that we are such close friends and it has been quite refreshing... For example, we are very honest with each other. We genuinely enjoy each others company, and there's never been a moment of awkward silence between us; neither of us finds those moments to be as such.

In recent events, however, I have done some things that have upset my fair lady. I want her to now that I am sorry. I apologize for my odd behavior and I can only hope that our friendship endures...

Let me head in another direction for a moment. During the summer, I went on several dates with a special girl. With each date, I became more and more attracted to her; I found that everything about her was just great. One night, we decided to talk about our situation. She informed me that she wanted to date around some more, but that she could see us "going somewhere" in the future. I told her that I would wait for her to make up her mind...

1 month later...

This special girl and I had a talk, recently. I wanted to inquire about where our relationship stood. To make it a short story, she initially told me, "I want to date you, Fred. I want to be your girlfriend... But right now, I can't... I just want you to be my friend..." AH! GASP! Once again, friends!

But I have come to a very direct realization...

BEING FRIENDS IS OK! With my friend, Jessica!... IT'S OKAY TO BE FRIENDS! With this special lady... If we date in the future, that's fine... but... BEING HER FRIEND IS JUST FINE!

I have realized that Friendship is the most important thing... above all else...

What are your thoughts on friendship?

The Beginning of The End?

Well, on August 11, 2009, I took my last final for the summer term here at Brigham Young University. As I walked out of the testing center (one of the most hated buildings on campus, at least on my part), I looked forward to a two week break in which I would finally have time for my own personal endeavors and pursuits. Mind you, these things included sleeping in, reading good literature, amongst other activities. But, nevertheless, my time was finally my own! I thought to myself, "You know what? For two weeks, life will be good to me." Little did I know at the time that that thought (is that considered alliteration?) would be far from truth. As my semi-vacation began, opportunities to help people arose and I found myself involved in many endeavors that took me away from the comforts of my bed. Everyday, there was some new thing that needed to be accomplished; some new task, a new person to help, or a new problem....

Than, suddenly, I found myself lying awake in bed, staring at my ceiling...

The time was 12:01 a.m. and in seven hours I would wake up to my first day of Fall Semester at Brigham Young University. My first thought was, "How did it come to this? Where did those two weeks go?" There was an inner struggle within the confines of my young consciousness until (unknowingly, I suppose), I drifted away to sleep.

2 days later... (which reminds me of the random French guy on Spongebob Squarepants whose occasional voice over is quiet humorous... But I digress...)

I have now been to all the classes which I will attend for Fall semester and I feel a little more confident than I had previously been feeling. Albeit, ECON 110 still scares the wits out of me.

It's going to be an interesting semester...

I have made some personal goals that will stretch me (both metaphorically and literally) and I may not make it. Nevertheless, wasn't it Yoda who once said to a certain aspiring Jedi, "Do or Do not... There is no try..."