Remembering good things despite the bad

This past week I spent time reminding myself of the positive things in life. Like Valentine’s Day, being able to spend the day on my couch working in my oversized fuzzy blanket hoody, playing four days of competitive volleyball, or just eating good food. 

 

One of the things I enjoyed was getting coffee with a newer acquaintance. This acquaintance, Ava, works at a PR agency and likes to email me and give me story ideas for the magazine. She found me on Instagram and saw that, like her, I had recently graduated and moved to Denver. Ava is from Fort Collins and went to school in Boulder, but still new to living in Denver. We got coffee about a month ago and completely hit it off.

 

It felt really good to walk away from the coffee shop with a giant smile plastered on my face, singing the catchy song the coffee shop was playing in the background under my breath, and being excited to finally have met a friend I just clicked with. It didn’t take work: I didn’t have to sit there and try to come up with questions to keep the conversation going – it just flowed. She made me laugh, smile, gasp, and more, it was so fun to talk to her. And it felt good to have made what I hope will be a true friend after months of not having one here. 

 

So when she asked if I wanted to get coffee again last week, I was ecstatic. It meant she wanted to keep this friendship growing. Ava asked if she could invite her coworker Ryan, who is also the same age as us. I said of course (new friend?) and we all met up. When they walked in the door, though, there were three of them – turns out Ava had also invited Anna, yet another coworker of our age. 

 

I was glad to meet more people who are cool and friendly. If Ava liked them, good chance I would too. So we sat and chatted and had a good time. It felt like a good group–until Ava dropped the words I had never expected. “I’m moving.” 

 

I was shocked and devastated and happy for her. The first coffee we got she told me she had never spent much time outside of Colorado. She wanted a life adventure, and now she was getting one in Charleston with a new job and her best friend at her side. 

 

So it turns out she brought her coworker friends not only for me to just get acquainted, but to make up for the fact that she was leaving me. Here I was thinking I would finally have some consistent friends that I would enjoy hanging out with, and maybe I still will, but Ava will not be one of them. I haven’t lately found myself with the desire to search for friends – between volleyball, hanging out with Jack and his friends, and going out to social places, I haven't really felt lonely. But hanging out with those girls getting coffee, I realized how much I missed just having a friend group all my own I could just spend comfortable time with. 

 

Until then, though,  I will continue to look for the little things in life that bring me joy. 

 

My Determination: “A noble friend is the best gift. A noble enemy is the next best.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia