You've Got A Friend

It's crazy to think HOW much one event can change your entire way of living. Of course, you never expect anything really outstanding to happen things just end up happening! {fantastic logic huh?}

I've met a few people recently that I find very fascinating.  Do you ever meet someone you had preconceived notions about and once you get to know them a bit they completely change? Well I recently met this kid, 16 years old, and my close friends had been asking me for some time if I had met him before. They continuously insisted I meet this kid because his personality is awesome and we would get along famously. Now, my good good friend Anele is "teen-sitting" while the parents are away and she calls me up asking if I would "please hang out" with her. She shows up at my house in the family's 'I'm clearly a rich person' vehicle and she has three 16 year old boys with her. I open the door to the passenger seat and simply say to this kid that I have never met before "move it or lose it shrimpo" and he hurled himself into the backseat with the other two. It was interesting because the second I got in the car I had the full attention of the three teens in the back, attention that I did not know what to do with. So me being me, I spark up some thoroughly inappropriate conversation with the boys about women and bad decisions...something along those lines (I figure hey! I have their full attention-why would I NOT take the opportunity to have a little fun with them). It turns out that these boys are somewhat on my level of sick-brain-matter-material so we all get along famously, Anele unfortunately has no idea how to handle a car full of 16-year-old-prepubescent-brains (myself included in that category of course). She finally says something after her laughing for 10 minutes straight, trying to convince me to stop putting filthy thoughts in their minds (yea right!) and the thing that she says is "Leandra, this is the kid we have been trying to get you to meet! Jacob!" and I had a revelation. This boy that I have been trading tremendously offensive wise-cracks with is AMAZING, The Gang was so right in believing that I would get along with him. So we make our way back up-island to the house Anele is watching, and the rest of the night is just continuous laughter and ridiculous notions, I felt like I was in high school again (which was interesting considering high school and I did not get along whatsoever). It was a really good time, I had a long discussion with Jacob about his choices in life and things of that sort--he is truly fascinating.

So why am I writing all of this about a 16 year old kid that I have recently met? Because for the past few days he has been peeling away his layers to me, he has told me certain things about his history and his family that I haven't known how to respond. So we have been talking and I've sort of been filter for all of his negative thought. The things that he has gone through and lasted through....I can't even think to be possible. He is a perfect gentlemen and really loves and respects the close friends that he has acquired. He is someone to look up to as a survivor, and though this is true he is still only 16 and possesses (partly) the mentality of a young boy. It's good that he still has this though because becoming an adult too fast can be life ruining. He is just really amazing and I have so much respect for him.

So one night The Gang (my 20-somethings friends) and I are at my friend Kevin's house. Kev's younger brother is Jacobs closest friend. We are all just hanging out, being ridiculous, and someone mentions that Jacob is related to several people that I personally have an interesting history with. This....made things a bit more clear and I was beginning to understand that I know his family, and adore several people in his family. It just goes to show you how small this island really is.

So I guess I'm saying that this kid deserves all the happiness in the world. He is so genuine and needs to be reminded of that, so I remind him daily. I am so very lucky to know this person. 

I am constantly saying "I hate everyone", "I hate white people" (don't worry I'm transparently white), "I hate America" and I say these things mostly as a witty response to something pertaining to McDevil's and fat America or something political that means nothing to me. {AH! Think happy thoughts!} But I cannot really say that I "hate everyone" because obviously I don't. I love many people very much and everyone that I choose to have in my life is in my life BECAUSE they make me laugh, smile, cry...they make me feel something. One of my oldest friends, Allison is one of THE only people that I honestly can say should not be friends with me because I was mean to her when we were kids. I can't get off of it either--every time we talk we always end up having deep conversations about what we mean to one another and I always bring up how much of a bitch I was to her. She keeps telling me to forget it. She is so intelligent and I find that we both strive for qualities the other one has. I wish I had her smarts and genuine exuberance of love and nurturing, she wants my spontaneous will for life and having social fun. She means so much to me and recently she and I had somewhat of a breakthrough, she figured me out completely. In Lifetime movies when someone says "I don't know what I would do without  you", I understand that feeling! And yes my life completely resembles a lifetime movie pretty much any time Allison and I get together. I consider her the Oogway to my Po (Kung Fu Panda anyone?).

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Of course there are my older friends, they make me look forward to living and enjoying being who I am. I love spending time with them as much as possible. Wendy Mae has become very important to me, I don't really know how we became friends but I am in love with her 2 boys-they are pretty much the only kids younger than 16 that I love hanging out with. She is such an incredible mother, she teaches them things and they teach her things..always with respect which is rare to find in a family these days. Speaking of family, Wendy's best friend and my close close friend Gillian is the one who inspired me to start writing a blog; think about things in a different sense. She is SO smart and witty I strive to have her quickness. She is constantly teaching me things about life that otherwise I would find out the wrong way or not ever know at all! I feel so lucky every time I hang out with these women because honestly...how many 30-somethings WANT to hang out with a 20 year old chick in the prime of making awkward mistakes and decisions?  I'm blessed (I don't know by who) to have them in my life. Truly very lucky, not to mention Gillian's mother OH MY GOD that woman is so amazing I can't stand it. Every time she refers to me as one of her daughters I really feel loved and wanted. I have had some of the funnest times of my life we these people and I can only hope that times will become more and more fun as time goes on. I am really looking forward to 2011 being a good year because I KNOW it will be--it already has been amazing.

I am the luckiest person on Earth to have the friends that I do--I hope they know how much they mean to me.