Hey man,
Lately I've been reflecting on this time of thanksgiving (yes yes, I'm aware Thanksgiving was several weeks ago). One particularly boring forensics class, I made two lists.
shit i love
people i love
I realized several things:
I do not spend time with many of the people I love
Out of the list of 8 people I really, really, love, I consistently hang out with maybe 3 of them. Why? Couldn't tell ya. Maybe because we aren't super close, but who gives a shit? We'll never be close if we don't hang out, what am I waiting for?
One of my favorite people is a total stranger I met once for 10 seconds and who I'll never see again.
Kevin. Kevin from box 48.
My dad and I were at a BC football game in October wandering around, when we found ourselves standing on a walkway in between two of the fancy-schmancy seating boxes. Of course, the boxes were catered, and when I glanced into the one on my left, I saw nothing other than a massive pile of the most amazing looking cookies. As great as football is to watch (and by watch I mean watching the crowd and eavesdropping on the many dramatic conversations) , I found myself glancing more frequently at the cookies. I pretended to listen to my dad talk as I daydreamed about sprinting through the stadium with the platter of cookies above my head scarfing down ten at a time. On my 56th glance, the man sitting next to the spectacular pile caught my eye. I tore my eyes away, furiously praying he didn't think I was staring at him. The poor guy got up and came toward me, motioning me toward the door to the box. Horrified, I went toward the door. A minute passed, and I began to wonder if I had hallucinated his beckoning. Suddenly, the door swung open. Doing my best to look composed, I turned toward the man. To my absolute joy, he was holding nothing other than a massive plate of cookies. He handed them to me and I just barely had time to ask his name before chowing down. "Kevin," he said. And that was it. From then on, Kevin was (and still is) my favorite football buddy ever.
Other things I love:
people who laugh. really laugh
straightforward people
people who make adventures of late night car drives, trips to the gas station, and making dinner
the smell of trees
the smell of fires
surrendering to the rain
a good hole-in-the-wall restaurant (always looking for recommendations)
dressing like a 13 year old boy
the moon
witty people
flannels
tea
spontaneous dance parties
What you're gonna do right now:
This will take 30 seconds.
Find old fashioned paper & pencil.
Title the paper "People I Love"
Write as many or as few people come to mind.
There are not going to be 50 people.
Only write people you ACTUALLY LOVE not people you just hang out with
You don't need to know this person super well
It cannot be a celebrity or someone you've never met
This person does not have to be your age or similar to you in any way
Let me say it again. ONLY people you actually love.
Ready. Set. GO!!!!!
^When you are finished, look at the list. How often do you hang out with these people? Maybe it's time to give someone a call or take the liberty of slapping yourself on his or her calendar.
Good job. You crushed it. Those people are your friends. Everyone else you used to consider "friends" are really "buds" and that is absolutely alright, don't convince yourself otherwise.
My to do list this week:
listen to "Solo Raves in the Bedroom" playlist - lights down, volume up
pretend to clean
look at flowers
flush an ice cube down the toilet & sleep with a spoon under my pillow to make a snow day
Crucial question for society: WHY do guys get so offended when they are called “buddy??”
Welp. It's pretttty quiet in my house, which (if you don't have a big family) is a huge red flag. Someone's up to something highly questionable. Ima go find out.
Happy Advent!!
Love,
Ella B
In honor of finals week:
Signature song: