On Friendship · 3:03am Aug 21st, 2013
Friendship. It's strange, but I'd gather to say many of us don't completely understand friendship's hidden treasures.
I have to say, I sure don't. But that's not a bad thing. You see, I think we're all sort of like Twilight Sparkle. Figuring out the little nuances of friendship, and learning right along with her. The lessons that we've learned through Friendship is Magic carry over into our social interactions with others.
And I have to say, it's incredible. You see, in December of 2012 my editor Wirepony made a decision to plow through our great nation in an August 2013 month long roadtrip that brought him right to my door stop. Prior to this trip, I found that we were going to be able to bring McMesser over from England to my place as well. An even larger part of this included a fantastic meetup in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I got to meet several FoE faces I've gotten to know over the past year on the FoE IRC Channel. See the picture below for just how awesome this was.
So enters friendship. You see, meeting someone for the first time is a big deal. Even if you've gotten to know this person over the course of a years time, it's still a huge thing to put a face to a name and interact on a closer level. There's a level of reality there that isn't there in online interaction. It sounds strange, but its true. It doesn't cheapen that interaction by any means, however. In fact... now I feel much closer to the people I've met, and it feels more real.
Looking back on this past week, and the time spent with both McMesser and Wirepony... I wouldn't have it any other way. Both of them are friends. All of the people I met in Ann Arbor? They're friends too. And what I've learned personally over the course of the week, I think I'd like to talk about. But I've gotta do it just right. So, here we go.
Dear Princess Celestia,
This week I learned that friendship is something that you have to extend when meeting someone for the very first time. Meeting new people can be scary, because you may not be completely sure what to expect. But I've learned that even if things seem a little scary at first, offering a kind hoof, a gentle smile, and a caring heart will earn you the greatest reward in the end: friendship.
Your faithful student,
volrathxp
For some reason the 'like' button is missing, or is it a thumbs up button... anyway. Thumbs up!
Dear Princess Celestia
Friendship, it's a strange thing. It can cause you to do things you would never see yourself doing. Like flying half way across the world to meet people you only know by name, like traveling across 3 states and several thousand miles with a good group of friends, passing stories to people you meet along the road (Really, that Alaskan will chat with anyone. A great example of friendship there) And even trying to order a 'butter burger' in Kentucky and the poor lady not knowing what I was saying. Sorry starting to ramble...
So yeah, friendship can drive you to do amazing things with the people you call friend. Even if you haven't met them before, you can meet someone for the first time and instantly be laughing at a shared joke or a story. So what I guess I've learnt from this whole experience is that life has a lot more to it if you experience it with a friend.
Your faithful Smooze
McMesser