Young World - October 2012
Friends
The 2012-2013 school year has finally settled into a bit of a daily routine.
However, some students still find themselves seeking avenues and outlets to expend
their summertime energy and enthusiasm. Welcome again to the old familiar routine of
classes and friends, drama and friends, teachers and friends, enemies and friends, and
friends and friends and (you get the picture).
THE only things that remain from the school year into the summer and back into
the school year again are what can easily be considered as, the best AND the worst part
of your youth - friends. The friendships you create and lose only to gain again are what
guide you through the happiest and saddest times of your life. Very often, your friends
are the source of your drama or the key to your resolution. Unfortunately, many young
people spend more time thinking about which pair of shoes look best with which outfit
than they spend thinking about who they would like to befriend or who they have as
friends. Your brilliance is not magnified by and should not be decreased for a friend.
The popularity of Facebook and social media has severely weakened the meaning
of the word “Friend”. Friends are to be carefully selected! An old adage says, “Birds
of a feather flock together!” In other words, birds (chickens, turkeys, pigeons, eagles,
owls, etc) have a tendency to fly and mingle with similar birds. Birds who can’t or don’t
fly, very rarely “hang out” with birds who soar high. How much do you really have in
common with the people you call friends? If you have ever found yourself in the middle
of some dramatic situation wondering, “How did I get caught up in this mess?”, then the
answer to that question matters more than you might realize. Perhaps, the answer lies
with the person or people standing next to you in the middle of that mess.
There is a surging wave of emotion driving young people, and adults, into
unhealthy friendships (relationships); unhealthy because they fail to build up anything
positive, unhealthy because they fail to support growth beyond yesterday, unhealthy
because they smother the life out of other friendships. Every individual has a slightly
different meaning and expectation assigned to the word “Friend” – what is yours?
Before you allow another person into your life as your friend, be sure you know what
that word means to you. If your goal is to soar high, like an eagle, please do waste one
second of your time scratching on the ground with chickens (who don’t even know they
can fly). When you know what a friend is, you’ll become a better judge of what a friend
is not. In 1984, the hip-hop group Whodini released a song that asked questions still
relevant in 2007, “Friends! How many of us have them? Friends! Ones we can depend
on? Friends!” Be Young! Have Fun!
Columnist Chris Dinkins is an educator and native South Carolinian. His viewpoint is based on
personal, classroom and volunteer experiences. Send questions and comments about youth related issues
to him at youngworld.scarolina@gmail.com.
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