Hello my awesome readers! It's time for this weeks' Behind the Blog!
Behind the Blog is a meme to help bloggers connect their life and interests to the content showcased on their blog. The co-hosts, Faye, Kathe, and Melissa will provide a different topic, idea, or question every week that bloggers can relate to themselves and the books, films, or other media they find interesting!
Our theme this week is Childhood Friends. Everyone has a friend or two in their childhood who were impossible to forget, and who may have set the trend for coming friends. (Or who was the one exception.) Who was your childhood best friend? How did he/she change your life? Regarding books/films: Which pairs or groups of childhood friends do you love? What do you particularly enjoy about them?
My childhood best friend is someone who, luckily for me, is still my best friend.
Her name is Tanya, and she's awesome. We've been friends for over 15.5 years now. There's so much I could say about her and how she's changed my life. I don't even know where to begin.
We met when we were in the 6th grade, in 1997. We attended the same school in 6th and 7th grades, but after 7th grade we both moved and ended up going to different schools. For some people, moving might have meant the end of a friendship.
Not for us. We didn't get to see each other as often, but we talked on the phone nearly every day during middle school and at least couple of days a week during high school. Plus we got together for sleepovers and other events as often as we could.
Now that we're adults and life ends up getting in the way sometimes, we don't see each other as often. But when we do get together, we make it count. Whether we're just hanging out, or have fixed plans, we always manage to have fun, and we always end up laughing about something.
We've seen each other through a lot of different ups and downs in life. She always has an objective point of view, and she's not afraid to be honest if I'm making a poor decision, or being overly emotional about something that's going on with me. She gives it to me straight.
I think one of the reasons that we're such good friends is that we're complementary to each other. It's sort of like an "opposites attract" kind of thing, but in a friendship rather than a relationship. She's bold, outgoing, and spontaneous. I'm more quiet, reserved, calculated. Though, when I'm around her, I do tend to come out of my shell more than I normally might.
Being friends with Tanya gives me a different perspective on life, as do all friendships, each in their own way. Having different people in your circles who like different things allows you to open yourself up to having so many more experiences.
The best thing about having a best friend is that I know I always have someone in my corner, no matter what. She knows everything about me. The good, the bad, the ugly. And she doesn't judge me. Through thick or thin, I know she'll always be there for me.
It's been a wonderful friendship over the last 15 years and I can't wait to see what happens to us over the next 15. I know that we'll still be friends well into our old age, and it'll be interesting to see just how much we have to reminisce about in our golden years. I love her like a sister, and couldn't imagine my life without her in it.
When I was younger, I always thought that lifelong friendships that begin in childhood were just things of fiction, material for TV and movies. Obviously they do happen in real life, and luckily for me I have one of those kinds of friendships in mine.
Books and Media tie in:
The instant I saw the topic for this week I automatically thought of The Babysitter's club for my tie-in portion. What better series to describe childhood and friendship than this one?
The instant I saw the topic for this week I automatically thought of The Babysitter's club for my tie-in portion. What better series to describe childhood and friendship than this one?
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| The Babysitter's Club I think that I read almost, if not all of these as a kid. I even read some of the California Diaries spin off, The Babysitter's Little Sister spinoff, and the Babysitter's Club Mysteries spinoffs as well. What I liked about The Babysitter's Club is that the group had girls with such different personalities in it. And, even though they fought at times, they were always there for each other. Even though the stories were a bit predictable, I always wanted more! Have you read The Babysitter's Club books? What are some other books that you think encapsulate childhood and friendship? Behind the Blog is a new meme for bloggers themselves. To find out more, check out Kathe's blog or that on Faye’s Or, you can check out my introduction post here
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If you're choosing to participate in Behind the Blog this week, don't forget to link up your post using the linky tool below! |
6 comments:
Oh wow Melissa, Tanya sounds like a fantastic friend! I LOVED what you said about how being friends with her gives you another perspective on life. I think my friends have been the same in that way - shown me another way to see things or react to things, sometimes a better way than I would have seen or reacted myself!
Your post made me remember my friend whose name was Tanya too!! :D
It's great that you've been friends for so long and I too had thought this is a TV / movie kind of a thing.. clearly, it happens in real. Lucky girl! :)
There's nothing like a friendship where you can compliment each other, or balance each other or learn from each other.. it's awesome!
Good luck and stay happy! :)
Awwwh. I love that you have Tanya. And I totally agree about opposites working even in friendships! I mean, sometimes it doesn't but then there is that friend who sort of completes you. I have a friend like that. She brings out my "fiery" side, as it were, and I help to tame her down a bit, I think! We're each other's Yin/Yang xD
But yeah, I love that you've been friends for so long! It's so lovely to hear and I'm glad that you have that! :-)
Thanks for sharing Mel!
@Alexandra:
Thanks so much!
@Ashna:
Are you still in touch with the Tanya you knew?
Friendships that balance each other out are the best!
@Faye:
Yin/Yang friends are the best!
Melissa! It's so great hearing that you and Tanya have been friends, like, forever. I mean, fifteen years? That's a crazily long time to have known someone, and I'm so impressed that you managed to keep in touch despite moving and going to different schools. Do you still live in the same city? (:
About complementarity, too... Well, technically, I know that doesn't work out when it comes to couples, but small differences are good in friendships since they help us grow. My closest friends nowadays are similar to me, but we all have little quirks and different interests, so each time we speak, we learn something new. It's awesome. And my best friend for the longest time... Well, we were "opposites" in a way, but I became outgoing when around her. I know some people hated how we could be when together, but it was fun! (:
By the way, I never followed The Babysitters' Club when I was younger, but I did follow The Babysitter's Little Sister! It was about Karen, right? Haha! It was definitely a good place to learn about different people and other types of friendships. Of course they got predictable near the end, but it was fun starting off with them! (:
Thanks for your post, Melissa! I hope you and Tanya will have a long and happy friendship ahead. After everything you've been through together, you deserve one!
Kathe:
Unfortunately Tanya and I aren't living in the same city, but we still manage to see each other every couple of months at least.
I completely understand about other people not liking how you act when around your friends, I'm like that with Tanya too. We're always loud and laughing, which I'm sure that others don't like, but we do! :D
Yes, Babysitter's Little Sister was about Karen. You're definitely right that they got predictable towards the end, but they were still good anyways, it's nice to have some familiarity. :)
Thank you very much for the well wishes on Tanya's and my friendship :)
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