amigos

I’m a relational person. I love people. I love being around people. I love talking to people. I love laughing with people. I love crying with people. I love living with people. This means that I take my relationships with people seriously and sacredly, which also means that my friends are like family to me. I think it has to do with me being an only child and I had to learn to make friends so I won’t be a loner and a snob. Growing up I always ran around with the neighborhood boys and racing on our bikes to see who got to Dunkin Donuts first. Of course growing up with a rough homelife led me to playing outside to escape the hardness of life inside. I found refuge in my neighborhood buddies. As I got older, I learned how beautiful friendships are inside the church. As my faith grew, my relationships grew with people who believed and worshipped the same God I did. They sharpened and encouraged me. They embraced me goodbye when I left them for college. When I got to college, another level of friendships met me there. First the sisterhood of the dorm floor that I lived on for three years. It took me a while to get use to dealing with 30 other girls and their “issues” but I’m grateful for that. They were there for me when that boy didn’t call me or when my butt started to get big or when my face broke out like a large pizza. We would stay up till 3am eating cookie dough and watching Gilmore Girls. We would sit in each others rooms and talk about how frustrating it was to date in college...when we actually had one. Of course we were each different in our own personality and style. We also had friends outside the dorm floor but like we always say: “Once a G3er, always a G3er.” To this day, those girls are precious to me and are my sisters. I would do anything for them. If they needed me to go buy tampons for them I would in a heartbeat. I do miss that sisterhood. That sisterhood I experienced helped me to mature into a woman. I love my G3ers.
In college, I also had the privilege of having another group of friends. I consider them my “family”. One way or another, we all came together. Come to think of it the main thing that brought us together was our Spanish speaking church. I will never forget the first Sunday we all met. The pastor took us all out to Cici’s pizza. We were the loudest and biggest table. Little did we know that from that Sunday on we would be together through those tough years of college. Throughout the years, more people came into our group and some people left. Yes, we went through some awkward and tough times but we were there. It would take us forever to decide what to do on a Friday and Saturday night but in the end…it made memories. I knew that I could always count on the group for anything. They were there as study buddies during the all nighters in the library at finals week. They were there at super bowl cheering and pigging out on junk food. They were there at Saga when the food looked like it was thrown together in a blender. They were there worshipping with each other Sunday night at prayer and praise. They were there when it seems like the end. They were there when someone had a birthday and cake was involved. They were there with the all night long movie marathons. They were there when someone needed prayer. They were there when accountability needed to be set. They had the brotherhood. We had the sisterhood. Yes, there were times when I wanted to pull my hair out because how stupid it got. I even thought about leaving the group and never coming back because how hurt I got sometimes. But I stayed and I loved them even more. They showed me how it was to love even if the person is driving you crazy with their drama. They taught loyalty and respect. They taught me to relax and actually have a good time. They taught me to love.
Now I’m about to go to grad school in the fall. This summer I’m learning how to let go of these dear friends and moving on. Yes, it hurts and it sucks. With my G3ers and my group of friends, we have been through so much. Life goes on. Sometimes I wish it didn’t. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to grow up. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so adventurous and eager to leave. Sometimes I wish I didn’t love so deeply but I do. Now when I go to grad school, my heart will have to grow more to let more people in. Already here in Houston, I’m making more friends that I know I have to say goodbye to. I hate goodbyes.
The main point I’m making is that relationships are so important in our lives. Honestly, I don’t know what I would do without my friends. (Yes, family is important…but that’s another blog.) We should not take for granted our relationships. It’s the real friends that are there to listen all night when a boy/girl breaks up with you or you with them. It’s the real friends that will hug you when your day completely sucked. It’s the real friends that would make instant coffee for you when you’re camping in the middle of nowhere and your head is pounding with the worst caffeine headache in the world. It’s the real friends that love you no matter how weird you are.