10
Feb
new friends
New semester, new classes…there’s plenty going on. Oh yeah, we’re getting married, too, so in our free time we’ll plan for that. 
I’ve been meaning to post about my new friends for a while… lately (this semester), I’ve been hanging out with a few people more (at school), which has been cool. Adam, Jared, Brett, Caldwell, Han Tae, Andy, Shannon, Jen, and a few others I’m forgetting… they’re all neat people.
I particularly enjoy my friendships with Andy, Han Tae, and Shannon.. the first two are in an accountability group with me, and they’re helping me with this whole marriage deal (since they’re both married). Really, it’s a good group, and we share pretty openly about real stuff going on in our lives. I’m glad to know them.
Shannon is another good friend.. she and I were born on the same day (same year), and we were both math majors (at least for a while) in college, and we both sing, so it seems like we have a little bit of a connection going. The other day, I was between my AU math classes in the evening, so I went to the seminary to reheat my leftovers, have dinner, and do some reading or something. Instead of reading, though, I ran in to Shannon, and we proceeded to talk for the next couple of hours. It was good… it’s a comfortable friendship, no pressure involved, someone to relax with and be real with. We can tell that this is the kind of friendship that could last for years to come. And the best part is that she likes Tara and Tara likes her, so I don’t have any explaining to do (mostly because there’s nothing bad to explain).
Friendships with people of the opposite sex change as you get married. You can go deep into conversation, but there’s always that little (or big) part of you that you don’t give up. You can let down some walls when you find a good friend, but you just can’t throw all of your emotion into the friendship.. which is a good thing, really. The friendship is still valuable.. but it has to take its place in your life. And that’s ok with me.
