Friendship

Friendship is tough. And that's understandable seeing as most things in life that are worth having are difficult to obtain and eve more so to maintain. (except for ice cream, that's easy to get and even easier to enjoy) So I have lots of friends, but I can't put them all under the same category so to speak. But what else can I call them? They're not acquaintances, that's too impersonal. Instead I have a 1 to 5 scale to detirmin how close someone is.

1 is a sort of not really friend. You see each other a lot or spen time together because you hang out in the same circles or places and you might think each other is cool, but that's about as far as it goes. A hello, a goodbye, an occasional picture together, maybe a facebook add and that's all there is to it.

2 is a sort of situational friend. You again see eachother quite a bit in groups or certain places and really get along. You talk about different things and relate to each other. You know a little bit about each other and you might even send gifts through facebook applications, but you don't hang out outside the group.

3 is a friendly friend. This is a person you genuinely like. You spend time together on your own and talk in private. You can laugh about things together, even form inside jokes. You look forward to being around this person because you find them "cool." You've started to get to know them and you're finding out things you have in common. You might talk on the phone or through some messenger system and you can say things like "I was talking to so&so and ..."

4 is a good friend. Personally making the change from 3 to 4 is difficult for me. 3 is comfortable, I'm getting to know the person and it's fun. 4 starts getting personal. This is someone you've known for a while and are comfortable with. You each score pretty high on the how well do you know this person quiz. You know some personal details about each other and you've been around when things aren't all sunshine and lillipops. Your parents might know about them and they send you at least a card during the holidays and your birthday.

5 is an amazing friend. I don't want to use the term best because nobody can really be a best friend. Anyone who's close enough to be considered a 5 is special. If going from 3 to 4 is hard, going from 4 to 5 is almost imporrible with me. 5 is someone you truly trust. This is someone you care about a lot and love spending time with. You know each other's fears and pet peeves and you have a plethera of both good and bad memories together. You count on each other to be there through thick and then. 5 is a good person that you should never let go. It's the kind of friendship they write poetry about and show in movies.

I have sine 1s and a bunch of 2s, mostly 3s, a couple of 4s and a missing fingers handful of 5s. Whatever the number I'm thankful for the people I have around me and I appreciate having aany degree of friends. There's absolutely people that are aquaintinces that I'd like to get onto the scale. They're great people and I want to get to know them. In the same way there's 1s and 2s that I'd like to get to a 3. It's not always about you though, sometimes you're ready to be a new level of friend but the other person isn't. Either way make sure you're always thankful and appreciatative for those people you can actually call friends.

I like meeting new people and making friends. Where on the scale do you want to be? Talk to me and let's be friends! :D (how's that for a corny ending eh?!)

Peace, Love & Pancakes
-Lib