Friends

Friend is a term that is used very loosely by a lot of people (children and adults).  I am one of those people that values a true friend.  I only have a few and they have been few and far between.  As I think back over the years, I have pretty much kept the same people in my life throughout my entire life give or take a few years.  I often feel guilty when I don't keep in touch like I should but when I am going through my "funk," I prefer not to depress the ones I love.  When I first moved to the big city of Boston I didn't know anybody but my family members.  Of course none of them lived in Boston, they lived in Thomasville which was like another world when you compared it to Boston.  I made my first friend, Tasha Hugans, at Boston Elementary.  Her father was our teacher and that was an interesting mix.  Tasha and I went through 4th and 5th grade together before we made to it the middle school in Thomasville (Chappelle-Magnolia).  Chappelle was the sixth grage and Magnolia was for 7th and 8th graders.  I had friend then but Tasha was still by my side.  I became friends with a boy, Kevin.  We were all in the band together and that is how we became friends.  He played the trombone, Tasha played the flute and I played the flute.  When we got to the 7th grade, some how we became friends with a girl named Latril.  I don't know how we became friends because she was "fast" as the old folks say.  Hey she lived in Boston too.  She and Tasha stayed in the city limits and of course I lived in the country.  At this point my friend composition changed a little, I met Monica and she became my best friend.  Don't know how it happened but she prevailed in Tasha over friendship.  I think Tasha had gotten some new friends as well.  She'd became a cheerleader and was doing things that I wasn't allowed to do (we couldn't afford it).  Well we were all good friends with another set of friends that surrounded them.  Lashun and I became friends and then Monica and Tasha added Tray to the mix and that's pretty much how it took off.  Needless to say, Monica, Tasha, Latril, Lashun and Tray are still good friends of mind. 

When I left to go to college, I had to go by myself because everybody went in different directions.  Monica and Tasha went to Valdosta State, Tray and Kevin went to Albany State, Lashun went to ABAC and well tril got pregnant our senior year and decided to have her baby.  She got married that following year.  I was all alone in the valley.  Damn, I had to make new friends.  I don't know nothing about thee people.  Who can I trust, How much do I tell, How much do I try????????  Well I did make friends and those friends stuck with me through my college years- give or take an argument here or there.  Tangee, Kim, Tameka, Ferg, Trina (left after freshman year), Tiffany and that's about it.  Well I pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. in Spring of 1995 and at this point I gained some sisters in all senses of the word.  There were 36 of us but there were only a few that became my TRUE sisters- Nicole, Toya, Kisa, Cherilyn, Mikita, Kenya and Darlena.  These women are still important components to my life even though I do not keep in touch as I should.  The phrase: "LIFE HAPPENS," is so true because time flies by and then we all have children....

Since leaving the "Valley," in 1996 I really have not made many friends.  Let's see I have Ann, Jaywana, Mrs. Pat, Ms. Lois, Ashley, and Kelisa and I think that's it.  My husband has become my best friend but every girl needs a good girlfriend that they can call.  If it were not for Monica and Jaywana listening to ups and downs, highs and lows- I don't think I would have sanely made it.  The only bad thing is that I have no local friends that I hang out with.  I attempted to make a friend and I ended up getting burned by the chick.  She was younger than I am so she didn't views things as maturely as I do.  Well you live and learn and believe me I learned (even though it was the hard way).

I am going to assume that my message today is choose your friends wisely, value the friendships that you make, let your friends know that you appreciate and love them.