Blog #2: Friendship Meaning -- Jessica Moore

Today I was eating lunch at the Common's, alone. So naturally, I was eavesdropping on surrounding conversations while pretending to be watching T.V. I couldn't help but overhear this girl, who was sitting a few seats down from me, talking about her experience at this camp she worked at. She got to talking about this other girl who was there and referred to her as a "frenemy, but more like an enemy." Then she said, " but it was at this camp that we became best friends. And it wasn't the typical friend where you just grew closer and closer into best friends, it was different. I can remember the specific point in time where I thought 'this girl is now my best friend and always will be." Hearing this, I got a little excited, thinking that I am about to hear an incredible story of two enemies, who are forced into a difficult situation together and they have to work together to overcome it, and they come out as best friends in the end. Sadly, I am mistaken. She starts talking about this tool shed that counselors have to "mand" so campers can bring back the things they borrowed to use. The counselors had just gotten finished doing some strenuous task in which they got really dirty, sweaty, and gross. She had gone back to the tool shed to make sure someone was there to man it, and no one was. So, she was forced to sit there, in her sweaty and dirty clothes, in case campers came back with tools. Then, the frenemy walks in wearing dry and clean clothes and having clearly taken a shower. This pisses the girl off, a lot. She said she told the girl, "I've been sitting here in my sweaty dirty clothes while you've gone off and taken a shower, WTF!" Then the girl replies, "I'm sorry. You go and shower and change and I will sit here for you." It is at this point, that the girl says, "And this is when I knew we were best friends, forever." REALLY!? SERIOUSLY?! I almost laughed out loud when I heard this. It seems like such a selfish reason for becoming "best friends" or even friends. So because this once frenemy did something nice for this girl, the girl how classifies them as best friends. That is no basis for friendship, in my opinion. But, it got me thinking of the talk we had about friendship and if you had a friend who said, "this is too much work, let's just do the bare minimum, we don't really need to talk to do we? Let's save our energy." This girls story reminded me of this because it pretty much took the bare minimum for the girl to acknowledge the frenemy as a best friend. And if it was that easy for the girl to accept her as a best friend, it makes me wonder what kinds of friends she really has.