As the years gone by I have consistently remained the more social sibling within my family. Making friends, receiving invitations to parties, and holding social activities had never been a problem for me. For the past couple of years I have still remained my bubbly social self but haven't really looked for any new friends or made any real effort to extend my network outside of work and school... Until I moved to Indiana.
I was talking to my brother Garrett (the modern day Napoleon Dynamite) and realized that he had way more friends that I do... I have Jon, my dog, and a handful of people I know through my parents. I was in shock that my brother Garrett was, in reality, the more social one now. How could this be, that I'm the one at home while my brother walks all the way to the mall to meet a grip of people at Barnes and Noble that eventually invite him to a block party. What's wrong with this picture? I sat back and realized that I really wasn't making any effort. I was going through the motions, going to church, going to interviews, but never really approach others like I used to. I was the one waiting for others to approach me. Things have got to change. Not for the fact that "Grot had more friends than me" but more like, I wasn't really making any effort to get to know anyone in the area like I should. I mean, I used to make friends with a pile of rocks back in the day and I sure wasn't making any efforts like that anymore.
The following few days, I made a couple of phone calls that turned into having dinner with a couple from our church that recently moved to the area. They expressed how they had moved around quite a bit and were in our same position of waiting for others to approach them. I was immediately relieved that I wasn't the only one going with that plan. I then attended book group with my mom and discussed "Eat Pray Love", then went with a girl I visit teach to see a chick flick movie, traveled to consult with people about doing their hair, then held a girl's night at my house (watched a Jane Austen movie). I was doing more in one week than I have in the past four months of living in Indiana.
I guess through this new adventure, I'd like to figure out where all of the people like me are hiding... There's a lot to be said of making new friends and learning how to be one. I almost forgot that having good friends/company means there is always someone to listen to your problems (without the urge to fix it-like spouses), help you plan your comebacks, hear your darkest secrets, and keep you honest when it's easier not to be. We'll see what this next week will bring!
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