For the purpose of this blog entry, I'd like to say that growing up is really cool. Why, you may ask...
Growing up is cool because you get to struggle with life, you get to learn your dislikes, and you get to do everything and anything on your own terms. To me, growing up means my friendships are changing.
I have always been friends with younger people. I am the big sister and all my friends are younger than me. I didn't think it was weird. I think subconsciously I wanted to be in control. In my eyes, being older has given me leverage over people. Not like I'm taking advantage of my friends, but my opinion is just slightly more important. I also think I was attracted to younger people because people my age are boring. True story.
At 23 years old, this has changed. Today, I was driving back from Harrisburg. A 3 hour drive. I had time to think, and I realized that my friendships have changed. The people I was once attracted to no longer hold that connection in my heart. It's nothing against them. I don't think I'm better than them; but, I do believe we have outgrown each other. Today, I witnessed this. Before I proceed, I'd like to clarify that I've never had many friends. Yes, I talk to everybody. I am a social butterfly. But when it comes to making friendships; I only like a few people. The issue is, I get bored of people very quickly. I know it's awful, but I am only friends with people who bring something into my life. I ask myself, before befriending someone, what can I gain from this person. I don't need to be friends with someone who I don't considered useful. A person who won't teach me or show me something won't be my friend. As a result, I could say I have 6 friends who mean the world to me, The rest don't matter. These people are all younger than me. Shocker.
Back to the story. So today, I witness how my friendships have changed. I am friends with three wonderful people who have taught me so much without them realizing it. One, is my former professor from Penn State. I could very well describe her as one of the smartest and sweetest people I have ever met. I'm not sure whether she would agree with this, but I'd say we're friends. We have moved past the professor/student relationship and we have become actual friends. I honestly think that's cool. Not many people get to have a friendship with their university professors. She has given me advice twenty thousand times. We worked together as part of a society at Penn State which aims to bring cultural awareness. Simply put, the society is everything international. During that time, I learned so much from her. Most importantly, she is the reason I will be pursuing my master's in international relations. The first class I took with her when I arrived at Penn State was all it took for me to want to take all other classes being taught by her. By the way, this is purely admiration. Please don't file a restraining order against me hahah. The time she invested in me. The time she spent answering my one million questions about any given topic has meant the world to me. She is a great professor. She is a great friend. She is older.
The second person is a crazy French human, whom I can't keep up with. Simply put, she's crazy and she drinks too much. But if you overlook that aspect, she has also taught me so much. She has taught me so much about growing up. She has dealt with my insecurities regarding NYU and my insecurities about getting older and becoming an adult. The main reason she is a very good friend is because we argue about politics 24/7 and she always disagrees with me. She can hold an argument with me and not back down. She mainly screams until I shut up, and then she proceeds to lecture me about French history, French politics, American politics, international politics, religions, etc. She is a very smart person. She is older.
The third person is a guy I met while backpacking Peru. He is Argentinian. He is one of the few people that actually know about politics in Latin America. We were together 2 days, two years ago and we still remain friends. We discuss everything from politics, to science, to traveling. He is always on the phone with me asking about my day. He is always sending me articles about Argentinian politics, as he has learned I'm a fan of Cristina de Kirchner, former president of Argentina. He is a typical socialist dude from Latin America. I have learned so much about El Che from him. I like him. He is older.
I've always thought I am the one person who doesn't change. I've always thought that I am the person who remains the same regardless of everyone else changing around me. It seems I am no different...
