I Get By With A Little

I went to Sorin Mass as promised and didn't see MB there. I waited around for almost half an hour after Mass and no sign of him. I now suspect that he was partying at the London Program reunion, but at the time I was pretty distressed. I finally called Sam, who came and collected me from the freezing porch of Sorin where I was sitting mournfully on a porch swing. As mournfully as one can be on a porch swing. He marched me over to LaFortune and, like any good friend would do, took me to Starbucks. I'm feeling a lot better about it all now (if I had asked MB, it probably would have turned out really awkward), but still, now I have to figure out who on earth I am going to take to this dance.

After I got home from LaFun I went to unload my sorrows on Alex and Shannon. I showed up in Alex's room howling, "Life is a basketful of misery right now. I don't have a date to the dance!" (how mature, huh?) and was promptly treated to several hours' worth of sympathy, comfort, wisdom and good humor from two of the best friends in the world. We ended up having a whole discussion about women and Catholicism, some of our top interests right now, and the conclusions of that conversation will likely seep into this blog.

Today I'm so grateful I have these amazing people in my life - Alex, Sam, Shannon, my Southold girls, and so many other friends near and far - who help me to navigate through the little triumphs and upsets of my 21st year. I don't have a date to the dance. What I do have is the most loving, wonderful friends ever. I often hear people complain about how their "friends" are really "frenemies," people who criticize them or don't cherish them, and I'm so lucky that all of my close friends really care about me and look out for my best interests. Of course I still want a date to the dance, but it's enough of a blessing to have these people in my life. Instead of being sad about my datelessness, I'm focusing on what I do have instead.