Metaphors serve as a way for me to express my thoughts and feelings. As I compare my mannerisms to those of a cat or my fashion sense to that of a 73-year-old grandma, it’s easiest for me to understand my thoughts by relating them to actual things. One of such metaphors that I try to capitalize on is a group of friends being a living body.
There are the arms of the friend group, who reach out to others to keep the formation of bonds continuing. There are the legs. These are the support needed to keep the friend group running. There is the brain, the rational one deciding whether the pros outweigh the cons of that stupid decision we all want to make. There are the eyes. They are the true visionaries of the friend group, planning out how you will continue the friendship after you all go into your separate lives. Then, there is the heart. The heart keeps the friendship alive. They are there for everyone to talk to, and they show care for all of the other body parts. Without the heart, the body is not able to pump blood, and it will die.
Now, people can be more than one of these body parts. More than one person could be the eyes or the legs or whatnot. The important aspect to friend groups is that everyone plays an important role, and every loss or deterioration of a friendship bond would impact the whole body.
Personally, I am the heart. I don’t say that because I think I am super-duper awesome or because I love feeling important. I say it because that is what I have been told by my friends, and I believe their words. Since I was in pre-school, I’ve been picking up the pieces of broken friendships and trying to fix them so that my friend groups could live on. I drop whatever I’m doing to make sure everyone is OK. I help make hard decisions, but I also listen and empathize when those decisions arise. When you feel other’s joy and pain as intensely as you would your own, setbacks will arise.
Sometimes I care so much about the wellbeing of the friend group as a whole, the individual friendship bonds and the feelings of each person, I forget that my own feelings are also important to the wellbeing of not only the friend group, but also myself. I try to act as if I’ve got it all together, when in fact I have no idea what I’m doing which can send me into a pit of despair. Sometimes, I need to take a day when I don’t talk to anyone and just am able to be alone with my own thoughts. Sometimes, I get so overwhelmed that I have an urge to just cry. Sometimes, I wonder if this friend group is truly the best fit for me.
But the best part about being in a strong friend group such as mine is knowing that I have the brain, the arms, the legs and the eyes to count on. I need each body part as much as they need me. I may be the heart of my friend group, but a heart is worthless without the body.
