Blog #69: Wait, How Did We Meet Again?

"When we first met I thought you really didn't like me."

"We met once and then the next time I told you hi you didn't remember me."

"I knew from the moment you sat down that we'd be good friends."

"I asked you to join the choir and I was sure you'd say no but then you actually came!"

"To be honest I don't really remember how we met."

These are just some of the different things I said, heard, or was told tonight as five of my friends and I sat around with our beers and discussed how we had first met each other. Some of the memories were very vivid— Sarah yelling "YO!! USAC?!?!" to me in the airport when I was tired from traveling and really just wanted to sleep— and some of them were much blurrier— me telling Govind I'm pretty sure we had met once before watching the 'DREAMS Band' together, but him adamantly denying that. The thing is, upon those first meetings, we never thought we'd spend so much time together or do all the things we've done. At the time, we didn't realize how significant meeting that person would be.

Now, I can name a dozen (or a thousand) memories of every person from the past few months that just really light me up. From unintentionally running into Sarah on our solo-trips to Rishikesh (seriously... in the whole town, how did we end up on the same little side street at the same time?), sitting on Rebecca's bed cutting her bangs, salsa dancing with Giacomo, or convincing Govind's friend that we were dating after knowing each other for only a couple of weeks, my time with these people has been full of shenanigans.

As well as this, my time with them has been filled with meaningful moments.

I've cried a couple times with Sarah, an accomplishment few people can claim. Rebecca and I have had conversations ranging from opening cafés and goats in coats to the darkness we've both faced at times in our lives. I shared my choir experience with Govind and dozens of others and felt their joy, as well as my own, from being surrounded by such a wonderful group. Oskar has many a time sat on my bed and asked for advice, which I tried my best to provide.

I think of these memories or look at pictures like the one below and, as cliché as it may be, my heart is full. Although I can hardly believe I've known these people for fewer than three months, and some of us don't even remember how or when or why we met, I'm so grateful to have these people in my life. And, in the end, it's not the amount of time you've known someone that matters, but instead the quality of the time you have spent together, the connection you have with them. I've got a connection to these people.

And by the way, who cares how we met? I'm just happy we did.

"Laugh for a cute picture!" *silence* "Salad is like so funny hahaaaa." "Who pooped last?"