Different friends for different reasons

*I'd like to thank a friend for getting my mind thinking on this subject...you know who you are :)

I get so much from my friends, and I can't imagine being without any of them. I'd like to think that my friends think the same. The way I look at it, how boring would life be if you got the exact same things from each one of your friends? That would be like having friends with all the same personality. You would get incredibly sick of spending all your time with the exact same characteristics.

I've never really considered myself an 'out there' kind of person. I'm slow to make new friends, but fiercely loyal once the friendship is made. I have one friend who is exactly the opposite. She can make friends anywhere with any kind of person. It was that bubbly outgoing nature that drew me to her. I wanted to be like that, and being with her makes me feel that way. I have another friend who is one of the funniest people I've met. She's adorable and most of the time the life of the party. Again, I love that quality and feel I don't really possess it. But being with her automatically makes me feel lively and humorous. Another friend brings out the sarcastic, witty side of me; while another makes me feel saucy and sexy.

The conversations had when I'm with each one of my friends are vastly different. I can talk about dance with some friends who are in that world with me, but I wouldn't bore other friends with that same talk. The same goes with all aspects of my life. Conversations with my more 'intellectual' friends are on a whole other level than the ones with my goofy friends. And that's how I like it. That's how it has to be in my opinion. That's what makes my life rich and fulfilling.

That being said, I love being with my friends. But sometimes the thing you 'need' from one friend can't be obtained while another friend is there. Sometimes you need to vent about something, or talk about something or even do something that can't be properly done in mixed company. I don't try to separate my friends, far from it. But I also won't talk about studio gossip with my neighborhood peeps, and I don't talk about my neice's drama to my Purple Posse mom's. I don't expect to, nor do I want to be included in every aspect of every one of my friends lives. Just like I wouldn't expect my friends to want to be involved in every inch of my life. Do we hang out in groups? You bet we do! Do my miscellaneous groups hang out together? Not ever! Do I sometimes want to hang with a single person from one of those groups? Quite often! I don't expect any of the other friends from that circle to be upset by that. I know I don't get upset when they get together without me...that just seems silly.

I guess what I'm saying is that my friends make up the quilt of my life. Each piece is different and has it's own place. Some pieces fit together for an awesome pattern, but the individual pieces are great on their own as well. But as a whole, they keep me warm and comfy no matter what.