With A Little Help From My Friends!

Of all the things i have ever under-estimated in my life, the power of friendship would have to be at the top of the list.

I've always considered myself to be a bit of a lone ranger. In school I wasn't a 'best-friend' type of person. I had friends, a group of mismatched people hanging out together because we happened to be in the same age group. We looked out for each other and helped each other when necassary. When High School ended I wasnt sad to see the end of many of those friendships. We all went our different ways and with the exception of the odd update on Facebook I have no idea what most of them are doing.

When I moved to Sydney the one warning I got most was that it was going to be lonely. I didnt know anyone aside from my Uncle. At first I loved it. I enjoyed my own company; but after a while I didnt like it. I was lonely, I craved someone to have coffee with and talk about things that mattered to me. Whether it be the latest politics or just the fact that I was worried my hair looked overly fuzzy, i craved the company of another.

I dont know how, but I fell accross a wonderful blog called Splat!. I dont recall my first post, all I know is that it has to be one of the most addictive things on planet earth. I was able to vent my frustration on FOF or think back over a weekend with MMM. What I didnt realise is, that it was the beginning of something amazing. It started one FOF when I complained I had nothing to do when fellow Splatter, Rydell, asked me to join her for high tea. At first I had a million excuses run through my head as to why I should avoid the meeting at all costs but my heart won and I went to meet this kind stranger. Well, I had the best time. I felt like we had known each other our whole lives. We are very different but at the same time we clicked.

Soon after I started emailing, tweeting, texting and talking to several other Splatters and my life went from being a boring event to something I wanted to talk about.

But I still didnt recoginise the power of friendship untill the past weekend.

I never realised how much someone else's emotional state can impact my own.

To the point where, when a friend does not get her dream, or she invests so much time and effort only to be told no, it breaks my heart into a million pieces. Or when another friend welcomes a new family member I feel my heart flutter with joy and hope! When another friend returns from a trip from a warm tropical climate to this cold dreary Sydney winter, I feel the cold just that much more! Even when two people, who are so deserving, find each other, i want to cry tears of joy.

But why have I only noticed my love of friendship this weekend?

Because people noticed my friendship... All through my life I have never been noticed as a friend, just that extra who tags along. People care about my feelings and notice when im down. People want me to be apart of their lives, making physical effort to see or talk to me. They catch onto my quirks and remember them. They dont make fun of my fears, instead try and help me overcome them. They tell me I am something, that I can achieve my dreams. They give me the lift I need when I feel I cant grasp my desires.

'The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed'

So to all my friends, I love you!
Poppitxo