30-day meme strikes back :)
Oct. 28th, 2011 11:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
floatingleafAnyone remember the 30-day meme?... It went around sometime last year, and I got started on it, but, predictably enough, never finished. But I haven't forgotten about it. I just tend to take things at my own pace.;) So perhaps I should rename it "30-month meme", or something.:D Anyway... it's just a list of random topics that can be used as inspiration when you feel like you have nothing to post about.:P And the reason I am coming back to it today will become clear later on. But first, here's the full list again, in case anyone else wants to do it (I'd love to read other people's responses, btw).
Day 01 - Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Your first love, in great detail
Day 03 – Your parents, in great detail
Day 04 – What you ate today, in great detail
Day 05 – Your definition of love, in great detail
Day 06 – Your day, in great detail
Day 07 – Your best friend, in great detail
Day 08 – A moment, in great detail
Day 09 – Your beliefs, in great detail
Day 10 – What you wore today, in great detail
Day 11 – Your siblings, in great detail
Day 12 – What’s in your bag, in great detail
Day 13 – This week, in great detail
Day 14 – What you wore today, in great detail
Day 15 – Your dreams, in great detail
Day 16 – Your first kiss, in great detail
Day 17 – Your favorite memory, in great detail
Day 18 – Your favorite birthday, in great detail
Day 19 – Something you regret, in great detail
Day 20 – This month, in great detail
Day 21 – Another moment, in great detail
Day 22 – Something that upsets you, in great detail
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better, in great detail
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry, in great detail
Day 25 – A first, in great detail
Day 26 – Your fears, in great detail
Day 27 – Your favorite place, in great detail
Day 28 – Something that you miss, in great detail
Day 29 – Your aspirations, in great detail
Day 30 – One last moment, in great detail
I've done the first six so far, and you can find them all under the tag. Today's topic is covered below.:)
Like I mentioned before, I never had many friends. Particularly when I was very young. In pre-school times, the only other kid I used to hang out with on a regular basis was my cousin, who was roughly the same age. We were pretty close through the first years of elementary school... but then we gradually drifted apart. In the meantime, I made friends with the girl who shared my school bench - the one I think I had a crush on, though I wasn't aware of it at the time. This friendship lasted into high school, but slowly dissolved before I went to uni. I sort of tried to rekindle it later when I found her online (through a Polish website similar to Facebook), but it didn't work. Too many years had passed, and after exchanging some pleasantries we really had nothing to say to each other. Which is what usually happens when you encounter school friends later in life. However, there are exceptions. The one I want to talk about today has been my friend for nearly thirty years. Even though we only lived in the same town for about one third of that time, and in the same country for about two thirds of it. We lost touch for a few years after I emigrated, but we never stopped regarding each other as a close friend, and we've both been thinking about reestablishing more frequent contact. Which was a little challenging, since she didn't have internet access at home. She does now, however, and I've recently "found her" again with the help of another mutual friend from Poland (the one described under "Day 2" of this meme, btw ;). She is very busy with work and two kids, so there was a bit of silence after our first email exchange... but she wrote me again today, and I am confident at this point that she will stay in touch. And while I have several friends who are very dear to me - if I am to pick only one person to be graced with the title of "best friend", it has to be her.
We were in the same class throughout elementary and high school, but we didn't really become close until we were about 11-12 years old, I think. Perhaps because we were both very shy. The other classmate I was friends with was much bolder, and I think she must have approached me first. A. was a little less socially inept than I was, but still pretty timid, and I know for a fact that I wasn't particularly approachable at that point in my life (I tended to hide my shyness and feelings of inadequacy behind a facade of false indifference and slight contempt for other kids). I can't actually remember how we ended up sharing a bench in either forth or fifth grade. Possibly a teacher told us to sit together, and it sort of went from there. At first, I was very snotty towards her, like I tended to be towards anyone who needed my help with homework (I was the best student in class, and in my childish mind, that pretty much justified my right to existence - it was the only thing I was good at, the only thing my parents were proud of, and flaunting it was the only way I could cope with the overwhelming insecurity that nearly paralyzed me most days at school, particularly when it came to social interaction). But sooner or later, A. saw through my disguise. We were very similar, after all (she was born exactly two days after me, btw). I realized she wasn't out to hurt me like everyone else (I'm not sure at this point how much I was really hated by classmates as a "teachers' pet" - it could have been mostly in my mind, for all I know), and I didn't need to put up walls against her. I started lending her books, so we could discuss them later (her parents were uneducated and didn't keep many books at home) - and soon realized she wasn't any less intelligent than me, just not exposed to the same "brainy" environment. In fact, she had the same insatiable thirst for knowledge and beauty that I did. We understood each other. She was the only one I told about my actor crushes.;) Actually, what cemented our friendship early on was our shared fascination with a certain popular series of action/adventure novels. We each "fell in love" with a different character in the series, and we mercilessly teased each other about it.;) We were soul sisters, and didn't have any secrets from each other. We finished each other's sentences. We commiserated with each other's school troubles (I remember one snowy afternoon standing together outside my apartment building after school, both of us crying, because she failed a test, and I didn't get the highest mark like I usually did; unlike other people, she understood that for me, not getting the highest mark was just as bad as failing, because my parents always EXPECTED me to get the highest mark, and I was terribly nervous about anouncing any other result). We knew the history of each other's romantic feelings - and later, relationships - in vivid detail; some of the people we've been with would probably be horrified if they knew how much we shared.:D After high school, we studied in different cities, but we always met when we were back in our hometown, and we visited each other in our respective university locations as well. At one point, my parents' empty apartment (after they left for the US) became a refuge for A. and her lesbian lover.:D She still lived with her parents at the time, and so did the girl she got involved with, and there was no privacy at the university dorms where they met - so I gave her the key to my parents' place, where they could be alone together. I believe she might have brought a guy or two in there later as well (she is mostly straight; the lesbian affair was an isolated occurrence, initiated by the other girl, I believe). When I moved to the US, we started to write, and I called her on the phone every once in a while (there was a cheap line for international calls from a stationary phone that I could use at my parents' house; I have no idea if it works on cellphones as well, so I stopped calling after I moved out on my own and didn't have a landline anymore). Last time we talked was about five years ago. At that point, she was already married (I did attend her wedding, which took place some months before I left), had one kid and was pregnant with another. So we exchanged maybe 2-3 "snail mail" letters since then. But I did tell her about the online LOTR fandom and Aragorn/Legolas slash (see, it's important to keep your best friend updated on the most vital issues in your life, non?... ;D). It's not like she's going to bat an eyelid at any news from me by now, LOL.
Anyway... today she just checked in briefly to say she was busy, but promised to send me some pictures soon. The latest one I've seen was from a few years ago, with her son still a toddler. He must be 10 or so by now. And I've never seen her daughter. So there's plenty of catching up to do. Still, reading her email felt like we'd only talked yesterday... <333
Day 01 - Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Your first love, in great detail
Day 03 – Your parents, in great detail
Day 04 – What you ate today, in great detail
Day 05 – Your definition of love, in great detail
Day 06 – Your day, in great detail
Day 07 – Your best friend, in great detail
Day 08 – A moment, in great detail
Day 09 – Your beliefs, in great detail
Day 10 – What you wore today, in great detail
Day 11 – Your siblings, in great detail
Day 12 – What’s in your bag, in great detail
Day 13 – This week, in great detail
Day 14 – What you wore today, in great detail
Day 15 – Your dreams, in great detail
Day 16 – Your first kiss, in great detail
Day 17 – Your favorite memory, in great detail
Day 18 – Your favorite birthday, in great detail
Day 19 – Something you regret, in great detail
Day 20 – This month, in great detail
Day 21 – Another moment, in great detail
Day 22 – Something that upsets you, in great detail
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better, in great detail
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry, in great detail
Day 25 – A first, in great detail
Day 26 – Your fears, in great detail
Day 27 – Your favorite place, in great detail
Day 28 – Something that you miss, in great detail
Day 29 – Your aspirations, in great detail
Day 30 – One last moment, in great detail
I've done the first six so far, and you can find them all under the tag. Today's topic is covered below.:)
Like I mentioned before, I never had many friends. Particularly when I was very young. In pre-school times, the only other kid I used to hang out with on a regular basis was my cousin, who was roughly the same age. We were pretty close through the first years of elementary school... but then we gradually drifted apart. In the meantime, I made friends with the girl who shared my school bench - the one I think I had a crush on, though I wasn't aware of it at the time. This friendship lasted into high school, but slowly dissolved before I went to uni. I sort of tried to rekindle it later when I found her online (through a Polish website similar to Facebook), but it didn't work. Too many years had passed, and after exchanging some pleasantries we really had nothing to say to each other. Which is what usually happens when you encounter school friends later in life. However, there are exceptions. The one I want to talk about today has been my friend for nearly thirty years. Even though we only lived in the same town for about one third of that time, and in the same country for about two thirds of it. We lost touch for a few years after I emigrated, but we never stopped regarding each other as a close friend, and we've both been thinking about reestablishing more frequent contact. Which was a little challenging, since she didn't have internet access at home. She does now, however, and I've recently "found her" again with the help of another mutual friend from Poland (the one described under "Day 2" of this meme, btw ;). She is very busy with work and two kids, so there was a bit of silence after our first email exchange... but she wrote me again today, and I am confident at this point that she will stay in touch. And while I have several friends who are very dear to me - if I am to pick only one person to be graced with the title of "best friend", it has to be her.
We were in the same class throughout elementary and high school, but we didn't really become close until we were about 11-12 years old, I think. Perhaps because we were both very shy. The other classmate I was friends with was much bolder, and I think she must have approached me first. A. was a little less socially inept than I was, but still pretty timid, and I know for a fact that I wasn't particularly approachable at that point in my life (I tended to hide my shyness and feelings of inadequacy behind a facade of false indifference and slight contempt for other kids). I can't actually remember how we ended up sharing a bench in either forth or fifth grade. Possibly a teacher told us to sit together, and it sort of went from there. At first, I was very snotty towards her, like I tended to be towards anyone who needed my help with homework (I was the best student in class, and in my childish mind, that pretty much justified my right to existence - it was the only thing I was good at, the only thing my parents were proud of, and flaunting it was the only way I could cope with the overwhelming insecurity that nearly paralyzed me most days at school, particularly when it came to social interaction). But sooner or later, A. saw through my disguise. We were very similar, after all (she was born exactly two days after me, btw). I realized she wasn't out to hurt me like everyone else (I'm not sure at this point how much I was really hated by classmates as a "teachers' pet" - it could have been mostly in my mind, for all I know), and I didn't need to put up walls against her. I started lending her books, so we could discuss them later (her parents were uneducated and didn't keep many books at home) - and soon realized she wasn't any less intelligent than me, just not exposed to the same "brainy" environment. In fact, she had the same insatiable thirst for knowledge and beauty that I did. We understood each other. She was the only one I told about my actor crushes.;) Actually, what cemented our friendship early on was our shared fascination with a certain popular series of action/adventure novels. We each "fell in love" with a different character in the series, and we mercilessly teased each other about it.;) We were soul sisters, and didn't have any secrets from each other. We finished each other's sentences. We commiserated with each other's school troubles (I remember one snowy afternoon standing together outside my apartment building after school, both of us crying, because she failed a test, and I didn't get the highest mark like I usually did; unlike other people, she understood that for me, not getting the highest mark was just as bad as failing, because my parents always EXPECTED me to get the highest mark, and I was terribly nervous about anouncing any other result). We knew the history of each other's romantic feelings - and later, relationships - in vivid detail; some of the people we've been with would probably be horrified if they knew how much we shared.:D After high school, we studied in different cities, but we always met when we were back in our hometown, and we visited each other in our respective university locations as well. At one point, my parents' empty apartment (after they left for the US) became a refuge for A. and her lesbian lover.:D She still lived with her parents at the time, and so did the girl she got involved with, and there was no privacy at the university dorms where they met - so I gave her the key to my parents' place, where they could be alone together. I believe she might have brought a guy or two in there later as well (she is mostly straight; the lesbian affair was an isolated occurrence, initiated by the other girl, I believe). When I moved to the US, we started to write, and I called her on the phone every once in a while (there was a cheap line for international calls from a stationary phone that I could use at my parents' house; I have no idea if it works on cellphones as well, so I stopped calling after I moved out on my own and didn't have a landline anymore). Last time we talked was about five years ago. At that point, she was already married (I did attend her wedding, which took place some months before I left), had one kid and was pregnant with another. So we exchanged maybe 2-3 "snail mail" letters since then. But I did tell her about the online LOTR fandom and Aragorn/Legolas slash (see, it's important to keep your best friend updated on the most vital issues in your life, non?... ;D). It's not like she's going to bat an eyelid at any news from me by now, LOL.
Anyway... today she just checked in briefly to say she was busy, but promised to send me some pictures soon. The latest one I've seen was from a few years ago, with her son still a toddler. He must be 10 or so by now. And I've never seen her daughter. So there's plenty of catching up to do. Still, reading her email felt like we'd only talked yesterday... <333
