Anticlimaxes

I’m starting to understand the premise of adulthood now: recognizing the patterns in all the mundane-ness.

I know I’m getting accustomed to adulthood because I can feel my capacity to be surprised dwindling with every year of life. Oh, someone cut me off in traffic? No big deal, whatever, I’d probably do the same thing rushing back home. Oh, someone else got assigned this very important task at work? That’s alright, I don’t have to be a superstar all the time.

It’s a non-issue — I can almost feel myself shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly, with an air of that’s life.

It’s about getting used to all the anticlimaxes that occur in life, like when you realize you are no longer someone’s most important person, where, once upon a time, you may have been. It’s okay — life happens. People move on. And more importantly, I’ve moved on.

These bittersweet realizations no longer hurt as much, and that’s because I know that in the big picture, I’m picking the right battles to fight. I’m less reluctant to let go; I have lost the death grips so common to the youthful.

This ever-growing stoicism (/wisdom/calmness/unflappability/help me find the right word here?) feels like a good thing.

My dearest friends

They say your closest friends are a reflection of who you want to be as a person.

I count myself fortunate to say that my closest friends are adventurous, intelligent, and loving people whose traits continue to induce me to a state of awe…

Like my friend Keesha, whose capacity to love and open her heart is just astounding. No matter what world of hurt she is in, she carries within her a breadth of compassion, the likes of which I have never experienced in a person. I feel her empathy envelope me whenever I confide in her.

Like my friend Trevin, who, no matter how occupied he is in his eventful life, has the energy to give 100% in his every interaction with me. He is fully engaged in every second of his life, and holds me accountable in my own level of participation in my life. I am grateful for his presence in my life.

Like my friend Mieke, who combines her work and personal life effortlessly, introducing one friend to another with the ease of a true social master. She is always willing to make herself the conduit of love and friendship in her circle. She is always so authentic, I know I can always be straightforward and myself with her.

Like my friend Rubie, who travels the world, one plane ride at a time. She is constantly befriending strangers and willing to share the wisdom she learns on her adventures. She is my sister, lonely, still trying to find herself through her experiences, and constantly on the move in search of happiness.

Like my partner Kevin, who has taught me the value of compromise and controlling my emotions, as they tend to overrun me at times. He is my rock, and continues to hold me in place. Over the years, we have had our challenges, but we continue to teach each other lessons that the other sorely needs.

I am forever thankful that I am surrounded by people I am continuously learning from, and who fill the gaps in my own personality enough to make me a more well-rounded person. They teach me what is valuable and worth holding to in life, and I have cried and laughed with them, sharing in these beautiful moments and solidifying my love for them. They have absolutely changed my life.