Friendliness - Tumblr Posts
On Friends
So, I don't know if you know this, but I have some of the coolest people in the world for friends.
Who else would come party at Panera bread to talk about My Little Pony?
Who else would be super obsessively neat and organized and still cheerfully share a room, for a month, with me? My room consistently looks like it was mauled by a rabid gorilla.
Who else would want to plan West Wing marathon parties?
Who else would subconsciously adopt my mannerisms?
Who else wouldn't complain or question when I'm driving them home and pull over for a short bit to look at stars?
Who else could I quote Easy A and Mean Girls with for hours?
Who else, although I haven't seen them in two and a half years, is so easy to talk to about anything from boys to musicals?
Who else could I run with?
Who else would help me sing as well as they can?
Who else would do calculus in play-doh?
Who else, when given a prompt asking about some law or rule, would write about not starting land wars in Asia? To put this in perspective, I was going to write about not invading Russia in the winter.
Who else would send me letters?
Who else would invite me to surprise parties when I'm one of the only non-mormons there?
Who else would insist that I come with her to see Breaking Dawn, because it was so scarring the first time she saw it and she needs me to experience it?
Who else, when I being to talk about abolishing the penny, would tell me only to "shut your whore mouth"?
Who else would stay my friend after two years of rocky relations?
Who else would invite me to every show she has, knowing I'm totally coming anyways?
Who else would give me a CD full of Sigur Ros and Explosions in the Sky and ask for Ke$ha in return?
Who else would hold my hand to stop me from obsessively twiddling my fingers as I'm biting back tears?
Who else would yell at me for overgesticulating?
Who else would be the best neighbors ever?
Seriously, who else could love their friends as much as I love all of them?
On Jackie
I figured it would be best to start with the one who inspired me to make this in the first place
This one isn't hard to do because most of you know Jackie already. You know, the gorgeous, funny one I always steal things from. What you might not know is how hard she works for absolutely everything, and how well she deals with other people putting pressure on her. Somebody asked me about college today, and how I thought I'd like it, and what it would be like living with someone else, and all I could think was that any future roommate of mine has some pretty damn high expectations to live up to because jackielove makes me laugh, cries with me when it's necessary, has a way of making things just mathy enough to be wonderful, and it really one of my favorite people to discuss general happenings with. Sometimes outside observers are fun. But in all seriousness I don't know what I'd do without this girl because shh secret we're kind of the same person. So go tell her how awesome she is or something. Or whatever.
Notes are fun. I'm definitely going to continue this.
On Aiden
I’m fairly certain Aiden doesn’t know where to find this which amuses me and I’m going to talk about her anyways
Aiden is one of those friends that I don’t necessarily see or talk to very often, but I’m always glad when I do. I’m afraid she hasn’t been her most cheerful lately so I thought I’d tell you all why she’s great. She can make me smile and make me laugh, but one of the things I admire most about Aiden is how brave she is. When she’s hurt or unhappy, instead of doing the awkward I’m-not-going-to-talk-about-it-because-I-can’t-talk-to-people-but-I’m-still-going-to-be-unpleasant-to-be-around-because-bite-me thing that I usually depend on, she actually admits that she’s not at her best. Instead of hiding behind snarky coping mechanisms, she’s brave enough to actively deal with things, whether it’s by talking to a close group of friends or by writing about it. Aiden is open and caring and one of the most supportive people you could ever meet, and as awesome as she is about helping people when they’re feeling down, I love when she’s happy because her smile is lovely and so is her heart. Also I hear she’s a fantastic snowboarder. Which means I totally need to get up to a mountain with her sometime. Hmm.
On Josh
Josh mocks me for having this because of the inherent hipsterdom of tumblr and as such probably won’t see this but imma say nice things anyways
EDIT: For example, breaking one of these rules is now on his list of life goals.
For being a fairly stereotypical reclusive intellectual with unjustifiably low self-esteem (as I always tell him), Josh is kind of extraordinary. I don’t really know anyone else who can talk to anyone, as odd as it may be, and still have the ability to shut out the world when necessary. He’s one person I can always count on to also appreciate the little things that make me love the world (boom de yada boom de yada). What’s more, I don’t think there are many other people who know blatantly more than me that I can talk to without feeling bad about myself. So that’s a plus. Josh finds good things in other people without being able to see those things in himself, and in spite of his poorly defined morals and mission to generally corrupt any innocent people he finds, I do believe he’s a good person. He makes me feel good about myself and someday he’s going to rule the world so I figured I’d do my sucking up now. Just kidding. Kind of.
On Jennifer
At one point Jenn told me she sometimes reads this and is saddened because I sound all cranky and uncheerful, so I’ll make this one especially smiley
SMILES. JENN BRINGS ME SMILES. No but in all seriousness, Jennifer has been one of my best friends for quite some time, and whenever I hang out with her it’s very clear why. Even though we’ve grown apart a bit in the past few years, there aren’t a lot of people I can flop down with on a couch after not really talking to all week and still know we’re totally on the same page. Jenn has given me some of the best things ever, from memories of Girl Scouts DDR and New York to more tangible things like my bunny slippers. Oh my god. I love my bunny slippers so much and I wear them everywhere inside and they could only have come from one wonderful person. Jenn is a breathtakingly beautiful ballerina, and you should not let the alliteration of that phrase undermine its sincerity. I genuinely love watching her dance, and I’m happy that this year at the Nutcracker she finally got the obnoxious group of teenagers cheering for her that she’s always deserved. Also she should get the fricking Magnificat solo on tour because she the best on it. And that’s almost completely objective. Also she builds houses for people in Mexico. No big. Everywhere she goes Jenn is excitable, friendly to all, and fun fact she’s not actually quiet. Fooled you. That champ.
On Maya
So this one will definitely be read by the subject and she will probably clap her hands together in her happy aww gesture.
Ignore the fact that that is in the passive. But in all seriousness, I will say it again, Maya is the single most feminine person I know, and I mean that in the very best way possible. As she thinks she knows but actually it’s truer than she might realize, Maya is beautiful. And not just because she has high aesthetic standards for herself. But that honestly is beside the point because Maya is wonderful because of how she always cares about the emotional well being of her friends, and because she always makes a point of trying to be positive, and she is funny and smart and all the happy things that make her so fun to be around. Like, if she had a weakness, it would be caring too much. But we all can live with that. I feel bad because this probably isn’t new because I’ve told her a lot of this before, but it’s true. Oh also she sings like a baby angel. Only happy to listen to. Sidenote, why are all of my friends amazing singers? So there’s that. If there were more people like Maya the world would be a much warmer and fuzzier place.
This is not my most well written piece. Huh. Sentiment remains.
On Madeleine
Cause yeah. I don’t know why my friends are all so talented and wonderful, but Madeleine is a prime example. She’s another example of someone I’ve been friends with for a super long period of time, and I’m super happy about it. Her wood floors are the reason I now bring slippers to the houses of my friends who I know will be okay with it, which is a super plus. As I hinted at earlier she sings beautifully, and when people tell her she usually just says it’s because her parents are opera singers, but actually she has a gorgeous voice and works incredibly hard. She’s a talented pianist, a brilliant student, and an honest friend. I don’t know how many times I’ve been doing something careless or unkind and she’s pointed it out incredibly courteously. Mads has a tendency to say what most people are thinking but lack the tact to say kindly, and it’s basically the best thing ever. She’s diplomatic and considerate to the last, but she also manages to be a barrel of ridiculous fun. I sincerely enjoy talking to her when I get the chance, even though it’s less frequently than I’d like, but hey, she has to be busy what with all her musicking and magicking and saving the world. Or at least, that’s what I imagine Mads does all day. Also she draws awesome. So that too. Huh. What a cool person. Now you know.
On Ryan of Cats and Mathematical Puns
Hmm. This is going to be kind of stream of consciousness and probably less organized than I’d hope, but here goes. Ryan is someone I’ve been on and off acquaintances with for a while now, but I’m glad we’re now actually friends, because I’m almost always happy to talk to him. This kid lives in a beautiful world of knowledge and questions and wonder and post-rock and it’s fairly entertaining to just listen to him for a while. For being an incredibly smart person, Ryan also can be kind of slow at times, but it only shows when he tries really hard to find a socially acceptable place to sit. Just kidding. Kind of. But in all honesty, I’m always impressed with Ryan for keeping an open mind, for being humbler than he has right to be, honestly (shh), for making scientific jokes that I really truly appreciate, for being pretentious in only small doses, for never having an unkind word, for keeping me up to date on my Spanish, and for never being afraid to laugh at himself or his friends. And today, he finally got his bread. Even though it wasn’t Wonder. Point being, again, that you should really appreciate this boy, and tell him lots and lots so he knows for certain how awesome he is.
On Olivia
Olivia is an exceedingly well put-together person. I mean she always looks good, but that’s almost beside the point because she’s also consistently ready to face whatever the day will throw at her. It’s funny, because I know she’s not actually always feeling her best or feeling her most prepared, but Olivia always grits her teeth, puts on a grin, and barrels through. She’s more incredibly compassionate than you might expect from her overflowing river of sass, but hey, what can you do. When she’s serious she’s sincere but when she’s feeling bubbly she’s essentially a wave of good cheer and smiles that reach significantly farther than Olivia is high. I mean that in the kindest way possible. But in all seriousness sometimes it worries me that she doesn’t always seem to be having an awesome year, but she has friends that are here for and care about her, and the rest of the year will be fricking awesome because I say it will. So there. Also she helps handicapped children dance. Who else just radiates that much good.
On Raji and Wesley
This one is a joint post not only upon request and not only because a lot of what I like about these two is similar and not even only because they compliment each other so well but because they’re now totally a thing and it’s exciting. These are two CTYers I’ve learned a lot from.
also out of necessity this one will probably be a bit more profane than others
Since not all of you know these two, I thought should start with a concise and thoroughly applicable introduction: Namely, these two fuck bitches and get money. And eat pussy, I believe they mentioned at some point. But in all sincerity I am so unbelievably happy I’ve gotten to talk to both of these people more. I’ll start with Raji, because her I can at least relate slightly more to. Raji is a brilliant, bothered, beautiful, writing inclined, philosophy loving, violin playing, Pink Floyd appreciating, persuasively debating, teenage girl who happens to be both adorable and fierce as hell and one of the most mature people I know, when she tries. And sometimes even when she doesn’t try. Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen Raji’s mind shut down to something it was presented with. She can be just as emotionally shaky as you’d expect from anyone our age, but she always manages to pull something vaguely meaningful or at least curious from a situation. She’s incredibly smart without being pretentious, believe it or not (but more on that later), which is hard to come by.
And now Wesley. Jesus Christ, Wesley. It’s actually hard to write this because I can honestly say I do not know another human being like this one. I’ll have to use general descriptors and hope you get the picture. Let’s see. Wesley lives in a fairly awful place outside of DC, and from a purely objective standpoint I think it’s fairly safe to say he is a redneck asshole with the mouth of a diseased sailor, the tact of a dump truck, and the imagination of a particularly perverted child. The word “fuck” and other profanities normally occupies the part of the brain related to emotion and not language, but I’m pretty sure it occupies the same place in Wesley’s brain as do words like “the” and “an,” thanks to over usage. Most of his nights involve vodka and cybersex and complaining about Mexican shitheads outside. I’m not even close to exaggerating. For a while I knew him only as “the one with all the dick jokes.” I’d link you to his supposedly ironic tumblr if it weren’t fairly nsfw and also fairly impossible to read thanks to the tiles of dancing troll gifs that make up the background. But the thing is, I’m so, so happy I know Wesley. Cause the thing to remember is that he is a CTYer, afterall. He’s smart enough to be curious about everything from obscure Russian dialects to impressive coding, he’s all of the intelligent without any of the academia, and he’s just crazy enough to be able to point out all of the hypocrisy and stupidity that comes out of liberals in America. It’s hard to listen to, because often he attacks people I generally agree with, but it’s so nice to be able to have rough, uncut, generally biased but also generally true points thrown in your face, especially when they’re the opposite of what you might otherwise think. Wesley is incredibly human and kind of my connection to the free, insane, wasted, illegal and fucking awesome youth of America. I honestly considered writing an essay on things I have learned from Wesley, like how sometimes a comfortable frame of thought is not actually the one that will help you be intelligent and also not a pretentious douche.
And as much as I like these two, I like them better together. I’ve never seen Wesley as honest as he is with Raji, and I’ve never seen Raji as happy as she is knowing that Wesley does indeed care for her, a lot. Well, I mean, I probably have, but I still like it like this. Meanwhile, they’ll both continue to amaze me, fuck bitches, and get money.
On Avery
So, it’s about time I wrote this, but it’s taken kind of a long time because this girl is both my twin only amazing and the inspiration for starting these in the first place.
Once upon a time I wasn’t friends with Avery and she was this incredible runner who seemed awesome and I wanted to be friends with. I don’t remember what happened in between but now she is an incredible friend who I wish I got to run with more often. I’m talking about running kind of a lot but I know it’s really important to her and it’s criminally unfair that she’s not running right now but so it goes. She obviously already knows that, so I thought I’d remind her that some of my very favorite runs were with her feet next to mine because we’d make it through together. So she’s a marvelous athlete but frankly everyone basically knows that already so I figure I should tell you all how inspired and impressed I am by this girl every day.
Avery does work. (More than most of us at least.) She’s one of those people who doesn’t always have something to say, because she’s not obnoxious, but when she does say something it’s always worthwhile. I don’t know if she’s excessively modest or just genuinely underestimates her intelligence, because she’s brilliant, but since she’s also never showy so it’s hard to know if she realizes just how smart she is so I thought I’d tell her. Between that and being gorgeous, it’s almost just unfair for everyone else. And I mean actually gorgeous (and not just because of her awesome hair), whether she’s in her favorite sweats or one of the super fun colorful dresses she’s so fond of. Like, go look at her senior pictures. Right now. Any guy would be indescribably lucky to date her, because she does not need anyone and she is at perfect liberty to choose or not choose whomever she likes, dependent only on her own happiness. And not suggestive comments from others. But anyways. Some of my favorite things about Avery don’t even involve her so much as how she interacts with others. Avery is kind to everyone. Honestly, I’m trying to think of someone I could find who would have something bad to say about Avery, and all I can think of Casey if he’s in a particularly pissy mod. I can think of literally no one else. And when I say she’s kind, I don’t mean she’s generally polite or kind just to people’s faces or anything like that. I mean when she talks to people she asks about them, she’s genuinely interested in responses, and she’s always considerate. Sometimes our friends (very much including me) are not the nicest group of people, but Avery is always consistent in saying almost nothing bad about anyone. So that’s part of why everyone loves her but only some of why I love her. Her notes are some of my favorite things to read as a last resort when I’m feeling super down, because they’re always great. Avery is also an extremely knowing friend, and is sometimes better at figuring out how I feel than I am, which can be both bothersome and great. She’s one of very few people other than my parents I’ve ever really, really cried in front of, and when I’m a wreck and need help and don’t feel like asking for it she always makes me feel better, sometimes just by being there. And as is the case more often, I end up crying at other times because I’m dying of laughter and her little half-chuckle-faceplant thing is infectious. Pretty sure Alexander Hamilton would love her too.
On Kate
So Kate and I danced together when we were not very old, and I remember being really excited to see her freshman year because she was someone I actually knew, and now I’ve been lucky enough to sing with her the past couple of years as well. What strikes me most about Kate, if I were to pick something, is how genuine she is. Kate isn’t afraid to talk to people she doesn’t spend a lot of time with, or share her successes or disappointments with whomever she happens to be near, or ask questions or make corrections when she thinks other people might benefit from the answer or response. That wasn’t particularly well-stated but my point is that I admire Kate for having faith in herself, to sticking to what’s important to her and for following her dreams. I’m not going to lie, I’m not the biggest fan of romantic ideals of France and Paris, and sometimes I get frustrated hearing about it, but Miss Kathryn has been wanting to live there forever and now she’s finally going to get to and I sincerely admire her for that. You go girl. Although, I should mention that although those are reasons I admire her, Kate makes a great friend because she’s bright, funny, open, and always willing to listen. So maybe sometime she’ll manage to spend more than one fricking hour on our lovely island here.
On Tyler
Tyler had to delay a bro night the other day so this serves as partial consolation. (I’m sorry.)
On Eva
I started off with rowing because that’s Eva’s first identifier, and she works incredibly hard at it and I wholeheartedly admire her dedication, commitment, and passion for what she does. It’s sad that she’s gone all the time but I respect her shittons for doing what she loves. But take note- I started off with rowing, but that is far from the only thing that defines Eva. She is an incredibly fierce lady with a penchant for style, which makes sense because she’s also an astoundingly good artist. And I mean astounding as in “Oh my god, Eva, it’s astounding that we can still be friends when you are clearly an extraterrestrial creation sent here to make gorgeous art out of everything you touch.” For realsies, anytime an English class involved an art project we’d all have to groan a little bit at whatever showed up with because it was just too good. I mean seriously, she’s directed two economics music videos for us, the first of which oozed with sexy class and the second of which was to Jusin Beiber’s “Boyfriend” and was pretty fricking hilarious.
Damnit see this is the problem with doing this. It’s really, really easy for me to just talk about all the mad shit she does because Eva is an incredibly talented person. But even if she wasn’t I would still love her to death, and here’s why. Eva has a fairly singular way of saying what she means while still always being remarkably kind. She’s receptive to the thoughts and feelings of others even when they’re not particularly open, she’s generous with her smiles, and she’s a lap tag champ. I’m really, really glad I’ve gotten to actually know her in these past couple of years, instead of just that fucking awesomely dressed girl that everyone loves. So rock on.
For Faraway Friends
so this person gave this talk today about how you really should go out of your way to thank people for making your day better if that is indeed the case because school is really fucking hard and every bit counts and so I can tell people here things I appreciate that make my days a bit better but I thought maybe people from home still make my days better without knowing it and by maybe I mean yeah that happens
so
Jenn, I see your stamp every day. Thanks.
Ryan, your hiccup chart helps me make friends because they're impressed with what an amazing friend I must have already. Thanks.
Aiden, I listen to the CD you made me for Christmas when I feel like listening to something not in an album and it makes me smile. Thanks.
Eric, I can't listen to you on the radio tonight because I won't be at home, but I love that I can look forward to it next week. Thanks.
Eva, whenever people talk about going to New Hampshire I get excited because you've given the state relevancy. Thanks.
Olivia, the other day someone was talking about how short people are sometimes fiester and I said I had the perfect example. Thanks.
Leo, you probably don't remember talking on the phone with me this one time about three weeks ago. I do, and it made me smile. Thanks.
Ryan, my friend laughed the other day because I was raising my eyebrow and smirking at something. I'm pretty sure it's your fault. Thanks.
Mads, you keep your vaguebook posts just clear enough so that I can understand most of them and smile at you. Thanks.
Maya, I put my generic pants on the other day and thought of you. Thanks.
Kate, people over here keep talking about meeting up in New York and it makes me excited that you'll be there next year. Thanks.
Tyler, someone today complained about how bent glasses were the worst thing in the world and I chuckled. Thanks.
Cassidy, I wore my green skirt the other day and I remembered how you said you'd like to wear it to church and it made me laugh. Thanks.
Avery, I read your most recent letter again the other day because I felt sad. It made things better. Thanks.