Good morning Nerdfighters, it's Friday...

August 1, 2014 Friendship Part 1 (Meet the Mendelschtapps)

Good morning Nerdfighters, it's Friday. So, by the time I need to upload this, I will be on my third day of traveling and so I want to have this pre-written because I've already missed so much because of camp. Personally, this week, I want to talk about friends. See, I've had some very big friendship milestones this summer and it's something that's been on my mind quite a bit. As you may know, I was in a show this summer and by uploading time, the show will have been over for almost a whole week. Wow, that's hard to get out. Over for almost a week. Ouch. Last summer, I did a show at the same place and I hated it. I didn't;t hate the show, I think we did a really good job. The problem was that everyone in the cast hated me. This year, I was fearing for the worst and it totally came true...at first. Then we got assigned stage families and I got the best one. There's something to be said about stage families. They usually suck, honestly. I mean, that's just the truth.

For the sake of this post (and maybe ones after this one) let's give them fake names. The guy who played my brother on stage will go by Naum, the girl who played my mom will be called Malke, and the guy who played my dad will be called Hora. Okay, those were their stage names. Yes, we were only part of the ensemble but bear with me. My director kind of sort of let us choose our families. By kind of sort of I mean that we got to volunteer to join a certain family when our character type (daughter, son, mama, papa) was called out and our director would choose one of us to join the family. Hora went into the middle, I wasn't going to join. I didn't know him and he's really tall even though he's not much older than me so he was intimidating. Then, Malke joined him. I was in a show with Malke earlier this year and we'd become friends od sorts. I knew that I wanted to have someone in my stage family who I knew, I knew Malke. I raised my hand and, bless my director, I was chosen to join the group. Our director was about to send us on our merry way but Hora and Malke were like, "Um, we have a son." Our director asked who and the response was, "Naum." Thus, the Mendelschtapps were born.

You'll probably get seeds of stories from my experience with them as they relate to other topics but I bring them up now for a very good reason. This year, I'm going to be a freshman in High School. After my experience in the show last year, I didn't want to leave middle school, ever. Everyone hated me, I was convinced I wouldn't ever make friends, and I was miserable. But let's be honest: We usually guess incorrectly. Humans are pretty bad at that kind of stuff. Long story short, these people became my friends, really good ones in fact. I rarely invite people over to my house and I rarely hang out with friends outside of the place I always see them, but yesterday they came over to my house for Game Day. The Mendelschtapps along with my sisters amazing stage family (who have also become my friends). The last person didn't leave until seven hours after they arrived. Seven hours.

Members of both stage families have promised to sit with me at lunch if I ever wanted their company when the school year starts. When I was at camp, they sent me pictures, videos, and messages to see when I got back in town and then they managed to sneak my ipod in with the help of my sister and mom so they could see my face when I saw their messages. I spent my week at camp convinced that none of them cared about me, that I didn't want to go home because I knew they wouldn't be happy to see me. I was wrong, horribly wrong. Nerdfighters, don't ever convince yourself that people don;t care about you because that couldn't be farther from the truth. If anything, I care. I don't really know you guys and I already care about each and every one of you. Back to the story.

This group of people, the group where I originally knew one person, have become some of my best friends and have made me feel safe and excited for High School. If you can find people who prove that they care and you find people that love you and you find people who are willing to acknowledge the prescence of you, someone younger and less awesome than their other friends, when you become another face in the crowd, never EVER let them go. Good people, good friends, they're out there and you WILL find them. It's what you do that determines whether or not they will stay. Don't let them feel hurt by you, don't betray their trust, try to pay attention to them.

I'm not trying to lecture you all, I'm saying, friends change us so completely. Be careful with who you trust your heart, that saying isn't just about romantic love, it's about all love. I've come to love Naum, Malke, and Hora after all the hours upon hours I've had to spend with them. I love them so much but that doesn't mean I regret being careful at first. Sorry for the sappy entry but it's honest. Guys, friends are the best. Friends push our boundaries, they help us become better people. Nerdfighters, I'll see you on Friday.