squares and circles.

I always had a couple of close friends growing up….whether it was my neighbor friend Bryan in elementary school, my friends and band mates in high school, or my friends Rob and Maria in college. Although I had (and still have) these wonderful people in my life, I never felt like I was part of a circle of friends.

I never thought of myself as a “square”, but I was (still am?) very quirky. Some people get my weirdness, and some don’t…and that’s ok. When I was 15, this used to consume me – we all wanted to be popular in school, whether we admitted it or not. What I viewed as a curse then I view as a blessing now.

I have a VERY eclectic group of friends…believe me when I say they cover the ENTIRE spectrum. Not being a part of a “clique” allowed me to be open to communicating with many different types of people. We all had the jocks, the stoners, the preppies, the (band) geeks, and the brainiacs (or similar groups) in high school – this experience is still an important part of American youth culture. I kinda had a toe in here and there with the majority of these groups, where I still felt like an outsider looking in. Who knew that having the ability to look outward, and respect people from all backgrounds would be something so incredibly important in today’s current society and culture?

We’re living in strange times right now…I’m very thankful to have a lot of wonderful people in my life in good times and bad, but I’m even more thankful that they are so diverse. In no way do I think I have a split personality, but I like that I have different dimensions to my personality, and I truly don’t know if I’d be this way if I limited my friendships to certain types of people. For this I’m truly thankful.

I’m glad and proud to be a square instead of just being part of a circle. Band geeks, can I get an AMEN? 😊