The Best Buds

I started my freshman year at college not having many expectations. I still had not gotten over how great my high school years had been, specifically, my senior year. In my mind, nothing could ever come even close to my time in Panama. I was right. I don't know whether I should be happy or sad about that. I am happy because I have so many memories with my best friends that will forever stand out in my mind. But I'm sad because I want every year to seem like it has been the best I have ever lived. Life is great, but not that great. I do believe, however, that I have lived each moment to its fullest.

I have made new friends and they are fun, even entertaining. But, I still hold on and cherish my friendships with my best friends from High School. What is it about them? We fight, make fun of each other, can sometimes barely be standing in the same room, let alone be friends. And yet, people often think I NEED them. As if I cannot go on living without them. I seriously doubt that. But I do know that we have the greatest times together. This summer, we had a two week long reunion where we went to San Blas and Contadora, different sets of islands that look like they have just walked out of a postcard. It was truly the most beautiful crystal clear water and perfect sandy beaches with palm trees along the shores. But what made it so great was being able to share that experience with my favorite buds, Dominique, Sam, and Juliet. It's always a vacation with those three, who wouldn't want to hang out with them all the time?

As we get older, and further away from our high school years, I should be fearing the end of us. But no worries, this summer reassured me that such a thing would NEVER happen. I know each of us has our doubts that we will one day grow apart, but I think that that just shows us how far from losing our friendship we really are. There were a couple of shaky times this summer, where all four of us were about ready to call it quits, but we pulled it together--we wouldn't have broken up the gang anyway. How often do you find friends that you can be beating up one second and be taking funky pictures with smiles from ear to ear in the next?

Now, we are starting all over again, ready to start off year two of college, each of us far away from one another. I don't know when we will see each other next, but I do wonder where that will be.

What I've Learned This Year

A friend from college recently asked me, "So what have you learned this year?" I responded, without skipping a beat, "I have realized just how important it is to treat your family right." I mean, I have always known this, but I am finally mature enough to be able to follow through with it and not just stand back and say it. This was may answer because living away from home taught me that some day, everyone is pushed out of the nest and forced to fly. This year, I had to fly, all on my own. And, I must say, that I have done pretty well for myself. I have washed my own dishes, did my own laundry and folded my own clothes, among many other chores I did not realize actually is tiring and time consuming. Oh, my Mom did all that for me? She really loves me.

Then it hit me. Why have I spent so much time being nice to my friends (okay, so friends are a lot of fun) while coming home and acting like Grumpy of the Seven Dwarves? I always thought that no matter what, family will be there for you and love you always. But it didn't mean that I could take advantage of that and use and abuse them just because I knew they'd stick around. No, it is family that should be treated especially well exactly because they are the ones that deal with you and vice versa everyday. Am I right? Or, am I right? I'm right.

Love your family, and treat them the way they deserve to be treated. Family, in my definition are those few people that have and will always stick by your side, not necessarily a blood relation. Those are the ones worth keeping and the ones worth loving.