It begins with a sentence that triggers immense memories and lets you reminisce on the days that have passed. You slowly remember small details, descriptions and the moments that occurred. Sharing stories with your friends about your other friends that all have intros like: “I have this one friend who…” or “I know this guy that…”
There are various styles when it comes to this kind of introduction, but they all have the same concept in mind. That’s how it starts; the moment you begin any of those phrases, your audience is already developing how they can tell a story of one of their old friends that can top anything that you could possibly reveal to them. You’re thinking of people who do this to you “all the time” right now, aren’t you? Don’t be too hypocritical, because we’ve all done it, time after time. Often times, these conversations end with a few exchanges of back and forth volleys before eventually, the topic changes. But something astonishing seems to happen almost every time these little amusing conversations arise. Nostalgia. Beautiful memories of those friends you miss and now wish you were around to remind them of these memories you shared. You see, no matter how great the story is that you just told (or heard), your audience would never be able to understand the significance behind it. However, I’m going to try to paint the picture for you of “This friend I have."
This friend I have was one I knew of before we ever actually met. Brought together through the beautiful sport of Track & Field and the coincidence of choosing the same college, an instant common ground was formed. This common ground was like a strong oak tree trunk with countless branches symbolizing shared connections. Some of these branches were old and existing, like a love for comic books, video games, the outdoors, adventures and anything that involved spontaneity. Other branches were grown anew. These were the branches that form and define true friendships.
Everyone shares an existing likeness with someone else, but not everyone gets to create a likeness with someone else. As simple as it sounds, to this friend and I, these branches were grown from things like an addiction to coffee, Sheetz weenies (two for $1 hotdogs), road trips, and mostly those hard to recall but impossible to forget weekends. Of course, as time progresses, some of these branches would become damaged every so often and fall off. But they were never so serious that it would kill the entire tree. These branches, or connections, were more mundane things, such as handing the other a loss in a video game that resulted in a controller being thrown and a wall getting punched, leaving a hole in it. You know, the little things. But the worst of those “little” branch killers were girlfriends that we all knew would become ex-girlfriends. (That is for an entirely different three-part article.) The important thing about keeping a strong sturdy tree is being able to pick up the dead branches that have fallen and find a way to heal it back, stronger than ever. True friendships should never be able to count all the branches that grow from that common ground.
It is friends like this that will make you replay these memories in your head and recount story after story to an audience that probably doesn’t care or isn’t paying attention. It is satisfying knowing that I have this type of friend. Because the next time I recount a pleasant memory to someone that begins with “I have this friend who…” I will get to remember. I won’t remember just the story that I’m revealing, but the others that have came before and after. I get to remember so much that when it is my turn to become the audience after the conclusion of my tale, I can be the one hypocritically zoning out. Reminiscing all the times I wish I could relive and all the times I have yet to discover with “This friend I have."
