How many people do we touch throughout our lives? We've all seen "It's a Wonderful Life." We have seen the consequences of wishing we were never born. But I wonder if they were to make a movie of me how many people would be there to be interviewed? I like to think that I had at least an average number of friends growing up. I don't think I was ever the outcast but I don't think I was mister popular either. I had some really good friends and I had some casual acquaintaces.
Growing up I never had what you could call a confidant. I don't really remember being able to share deep dark secrets with anyone. Then again I don't remember having any deep dark secrets. My friends and I did a lot together. We played ball, rode bikes, built forts, what every kid did. We played video games and stayed up all night watching MTV (back when it was videos). We talked about girls, mountain bikes, the NBA. I had a good childhood.
When I got older, mostly after high school started, some of my old friends drifted away. We just didn't click in the same way that we once did. I think it was different sports that took us in different directions. That and girls. I started getting girlfriends, they started snow boarding. But I gained new friends in high school. I had more friends in high school then ever before. The friends that I had then weren't the same though. We hung out at school and we went to dances as big groups but we never hung around together outside of that. I rarely went over to their houses and they never came over to mine. I was busier then. I had school, a lot of honors classes and I had to work or lose my car. I had big plans so I couldn't change school and I needed my freedom so not working was out of the question. After high school we all went in seperate directions. I got married, some of my friends travelled, some went on missions, while others went off to college somewhere not Utah. It wasn't until my 5 year reunion that I reconnected with a good friend from high school and we still are in contact today. My adult friends are the smallest group of friends yet but I think that some of them will be friends for life.
If they ever make a movie about me they will interview my family. My mom and dad will say nice things about me like I was a really smart kid and always had lofty goals. My older sisters (not older than me just older than the youngest one) will recount all the times I teased them by taking the heads off of their Barbies or whatever they come up with. My youngest sister will say how we were buddies and attribute her love of video games to me because that was something we connected with. Hopefully my in-laws will have nice things to say about me. I like to think that I've been perfectly pleasant to all of them. I really do enjoy having them as my in-laws. I couldn't ask for a better group. But I will be most interested to see what my friends will say about me. I think they saw me for who I truly was. I never hid anything from them. They saw me at my darkest and brightest. We argued and disagreed and sometimes even came to blows. But that never stopped us from being friends for long. I miss a lot of my old friends and wish we could reconnect at some point. Family loves you because they have to. They're stuck with you. Friends love you because they want to. They choose to.
