Saturday, January 13, 2007

Best Friends


Have you ever noticed in every great YA there is a best friend you can count on? When you're in your teens, and even after, you need that someone who knows you how you really are, who you can say anything to, and who will love you no matter what.

I just re-read Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen -- made into the movie How to Deal along with the book That Summer. Sarah's so good at getting across the complexities of close friendships.

And what about the group of friends in Bridget Jones' Diary? She describes them as her "urban tribal family". Isn't that the total truth? It goes right along with the magnet on my sister's fridge that reads, "Friends are the family you choose for yourself."

I have a few best friends. They seem to fit different areas of my life. I still hang with my best friend from high school -- though it's funny how we became friends.

We both liked the same guy. His name was Chad and he was a junior. T was a sophomore and I was a freshman -- and we both thought Chad was hot. So, when I saw her slow-dancing with him in the cafeteria at a dance, I was determined to hate the girl's guts.

Of course what happened was, Chad didn't like either one of us. And then, we both didn't like Chad. Suddenly, T and I had something in common and a friendship to last the ages was born.

It's weird that I often start out not liking the people that end up becoming my best friends. Maybe it's because they are interesting people who are harder to get to know. Those are the best kind of friends. The ones who surprise you with their true selves. The ones who keep changing and growing into even cooler people.

So, how did you guys meet your best friends?

5 comments:

stephhale said...

I love this post, Heather.
I have several B/f/f's. Some I've known since I was five, some I was lucky enough to have met later in life. I love all of them and feel so lucky to have them.
xo,
Steph
www.stephaniehale.com

TinaFerraro said...

Great post, Heather, and ditto what Steph said about having several best friends at different stages of my life.

But I will talk about one--and she reads our blog so waving BIG--who was the first person to befriend me when I was the weird new girl in fourth grade.

We have gone in and out of each others' lives, always seeming to "reappear" at a time when we were most needed. Although we live on opposite sides of the country, and periods of time sometimes pass without contact, the magic is always THERE. We can pick right up where we left off without so much as a glance backwards.

That's a best friend. :)

Tina

www.tinaferraro.com

Anonymous said...

Oh Tina

This is probably one of the nicest things a "girl" friend has ever said about me. What can I say? I love you too BFF.

J

TinaFerraro said...

Aw, J...how I loved finding this message here! Entire country aside, you're never very far away from me, are you???

Tina

Simone Elkeles said...

This cheerleader was being a total "mean girl" to me in high school so when the principal found out he asked who I'd like to sit behind me instead of rude cheerleader. I said Jen.

Jen and I have been best friends ever since. Her husband is in the US navy and I'm going to visit her in Italy. (they're currently based overseas).

~Simone Elkeles
www.simoneelkeles.com