the friendship plot

"Rather than being a necessary part of life, friendship is a dangerous alternative to normal living—a kind of world of lotus-eaters, dwelling forever in the summer space between childhood and adulthood."

It made me a little sad to read this because I feel like I'm approaching the cusp between childhood and adulthood all too fast, and that means that moving forward, friendships are going to look different. Now, in high school, friendships form naturally - having just a class or two in common with someone can spark a close friendship - but it's only uphill from here. How am I supposed to make friends when I decide to move to a different country, or when I get a job in a new city and all my colleagues are at least ten years older than me?

My parents once told me the story of how they met. They were introduced to each other through a mutual friend, and my dad took my mom out on a date at a nice restaurant in Tokyo. He actually realized that he forgot his umbrella at the restaurant while walking my mom to the train station, so he had to sprint back to grab it lol (on the first date btw)... but that's another story. 

 

 ^my parents in a nutshell

 

Whenever I think about my parents' love story, I wonder how lucky they must've been to find the love of their lives through the one friend they had in common. The reality of forming friendships and relationships seems so difficult compared to that.

I also miss the simplicity of early friendships. As a little kid, playing tag at the playground with friends for hours was the most entertaining thing in the world. Now, hanging out with friends requires careful planning or paying for an experience (like buying movie tickets), which takes away from the pure experience of hanging out with friends. We get so caught up in the formalities of hanging out - but I think I would still enjoy the "playing tag" option.