Shelby’s Editor’s Note: Before we begin Blaze’s LAST solo OTF piece, if you haven’t already, read through our second version of Who Wrote What and pick which writer is which!
I’ve been thinking a lot about friendships.
How different each relationship can look and how that makes them all the more special, like pebbles on a rocky beach each one calling our attention for a unique purpose.
The friends of friends, work friends, writing friends, the ones we love to share ideas with, the inspirations, the people we no longer keep in touch with, the long distance friend, the ones who physically live close but logistically we only see every few months at a 3 hour dinner, the small talk friends, the parasocial friends on podcasts and shows who are not actually our friends, the neighborhood acquaintances whose names we don’t know, the friends we miss, and the friends we see with sporadic regularity.
The beautiful thing about friendship is how it brings together people with a similar through line but can lead to such different dynamics. I don’t think any of my friendships look the same as one another but some fit easier. My current relationship blossomed out of a strong friendship, I’ve had friends as my emergency contact before family, there were friends turned coworkers and coworkers turned friends, and most commonly friends turned roommates.
I used to worry that a lot of my relationships were glued together by our shared love of drinking and debauchery but as I / we settle down a bit it’s clearer more than ever that the excess was just a way to connect but the true love lies underneath it.
My friends know how to have a good time but we also know how to communicate, to be there for each other, to really listen, and be supportive.
Living in a city is great because it’s a prime location to hold a mixed bag of people to connect with in different ways but it also lends itself to a swinging door that people rotate in and out of. An easy place to move about and out of simultaneously.
I don’t have a solid thesis or neat bow to tie this up with but I just wanted, maybe needed, to take the time to reflect on the incredibly special yet mostly intangible thing that makes a friendship so important.
I also want to implore us all to hug our friends extra tight and share our feelings a little more. To encourage us to be mushy in a space that feels harder by the day.
Shit We’re Loving: Watch
Blaze’s Pick: The Bear Season 2
The second season of the mega hit Hulu TV show The Bear came out this month and it’s sweeping the country. There’s finally a love interest for our main heart throb and it does a brilliant job of adding so many new layers to the worst characters, almost redefining what a redemption arc could look like. There’s still the same anxiety and chaos from Season 1 but with a little more explanation and context. Each episode focuses on a different character while the rest of the cast swirls around them, which ends up explaining the complex dynamics in the show even more. It is an incredible cast backed by great writing and cinematography. I would highly recommend even if it can really get you heart racing.
Show Your Support: Global Girl Media
For our final OTF Show Your Support, I’ve chosen Global Girl Media (GGM), which develops the voice and media literacy of teenage girls and young women, ages 14-25, in under-served communities by teaching them to create and share digital journalism designed to improve scholastic achievement, ignite community activism and spark social change.
We change the storytellers so they can change the world.
Global Girl Media empowers young women to bring their often-overlooked perspectives onto the global media stage. By turning up the volume of girls’ voices globally, GGM promotes freedom of expression and strengthens substantive journalism that addresses historically marginalized voices. We do this while also building self-esteem, leadership capacity, and 21st-century skills. Founded in 2010, we are currently active in South Africa, Kosovo, Chicago, Los Angeles, Greece, London, and the Bay Area.
You can’t be what you can’t see. Our media tells us a lot about who we are and the stories we believe about ourselves. Yet, a female POV is under-published, under-broadcast, and under-streamed compared to a male POV. Now more than ever, women and girls of color need a place at the table to change the narrative. That’s where GGM comes in.
In the OTF fashion, we have already donated $200 to Global Girl Media and we encourage you to give and/or promote what you can.
Daily Intention:
Today I choose…
love!
Here’s some nifty buttons for you to press, enjoy: