Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Demolition Derby!


Demolition Derby!
Originally uploaded by emster214
I went to my very first demolition derby on Friday night at the Rockingham County Fair. What fun! I truly believe part of living in a place is participating in the local activities. So that's what I try to do. And let me tell you, the demolition derby is definitely a local activity. But I have to admit, there is something pretty satisfying about watching cars crash into each other. This image is from the compact car competition. The little blue car on the right was the car that ended up winning. If you look closely, the guy actually has his eyes closed and both hands up. Ha!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

On Friendship

Well, as some of you probably know, it's been kind of a trying time in my life recently. Without going into detail, I'm just gonna say I've had the opportunity to reexamine friendships, relationships, love and family. I've felt trampled in the last month or two; I'm still moving forward, but a little bruised in the journey.

I've been reflecting on the nature of friendships lately... An important component of friendship is, obviously, the give and take. Part of my frustration stems from feeling worn out from the giving. I truly believe that being friends with someone means you don't give up on them. Or at least not without a load of effort. I guess as a result, I've invested more into my friendships than I'm seeing in return. It takes me awhile to open myself up to people and develop lasting friendships, and when I do, I expect that they will be reciprocal. I've been hurt in the past few weeks in realizing that apparently friendship doesn't always mean the same thing to everyone else. And, people are human. They aren't perfect. I get that. But I think preserving friendship means believing the best about people. Maybe it's seeing people not always for who they are, but more for who they're trying to be. Which is why I will continue to try, even when people disappoint me and let me down. And I certainly make mistakes too. I'm not the perfect friend, but I can say in good faith that I consistently try to be. Friendship means being there for your friends, even when it's not convenient or easy. It's realizing that hurdles are just that - hurdles - NOT barriers. I want to jump over them and keep running.

I don't want to give up.