The Company You Keep

As the saying goes, "You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family." I don't discredit whomever may have coined the term and the number of people who quoted it, but to certain extent, you can pick your family. 

It's the first wedding, but definitely not the last party. | September 14, 2013

Now, I'm not talking about your biological family, but I am talking about the friends that become your family. Specifically, the friends you carry with throughout your life, the friends that grow with you and grow up with you.

I found that special group of people in college. In those four to five years we spent "figuring things out" and enjoying some new found freedom, we learned lessons and they weren't always in a classroom. Some of us learned how to mend a broken heart, others learned how to mend wounded knees and some of us learned the art of getting through a north Florida "winter." Then there is the invaluable lesson of the company we kept and the special place they'll have in our heart forever. Together we formed bonds, created memories and laughed with (and at times at) each other, piecing together what forever will be our college years.

For all you twenty-somethings out there, I'm sure you're picking up what I'm putting down. You're probably thinking of your group of friends, your go-tos, your ride or die, your family away from home. Maybe you've known this group since you were kids in elementary school or, like me, they are a group of individuals you didn't have the pleasure of meeting until college. However, you can't imagine your future with out them.

FSU Graduation | April 2012

They've impacted you. You've learned with them and from them. You've laughed, you've cried and hopefully, you've cried because your were laughing so much. Along with your family (your real family), they're people you picture surrounding you during the big moments in your future: marriage, kids, job promotions, cross-country moves...

Finding this group and weeding out the ones that don't stick can cause some heart ache and some drama. At times you may wonder if everyone is stuck in the high school, teenage, drama-driven mentality.  It's work and it's hard work, but it's great work. It's holding someone's hand through a crowded bar so you don't loose each other. It's picking up your roommate from the gym so she doesn't have to walk home dazed, because she didn't eat before she worked out. It's the "text me when you get there so I know you're safe" yell down the hall. It's the effort, it's the laughs and it's the love...and it's what makes them your family.

Kallie Lamb's 21st Birthday | September 2011

You're going to but heads, you're going to disagree, you're going to call each other out on chewing too loud they can't hear the television (true story by the way), but you're going to know there's no malice behind it. You're going to know is from a sacred place in their heart, a place that you and you alone can fill.  
Just as you have carved out your own nook they'll carve out their own cranny. They'll build bookshelves and line those shelves with snapshots of some of your greatest memories. Those snapshots will bookend rows of novels filled with great adventures and a dynamic ensemble. 
You want to know the best part? You'll be part of those stories. 
Then, months or years down whichever road you've all traveled, you'll find yourself sitting quietly and reaching for something nestled on a bookshelf. The memories will fill you and a smile will find its way below your nose and above your chin. You'll remember where you were and the moments that made you laugh, but most importantly, you'll remember with whom you shared those moments and who was laughing next to you. You'll pause and be grateful that it's the company you'll have moving forward, because it's the best kind of company to keep. 
Sincerely,   Cybill