Ever since I got back to the city, not only have I had to adjust but also catch up with my friends. So throughout the weeks, I was splitting my time for different friends and yesterday on Sunday, I was meeting up with my highschool best friend that I just happened to meet a few months ago back in my hometown. For someone who loves to disappear, I enjoy hearing a lot of gossip and life successful stories of my friends. And among those were also stories of friends that we lost early. The nostalgia was definitely there and I was just so immersed in them that I forgot years have passed. Strangely though, talking to my highschool best friend felt the same. You know, they say people change but I was still able to vibe with them. We visited a cafe called MR. Like which was a newly opened place with a massive outdoor garden and massive indoor seating. It also tends to be packed with patrons who are also mostly with their friends. Since I arrived earlier and haven't slept for a good 24 hours, I ordered tea first and a croissant to keep me awake. To be honest, I was expecting the meet up to only be 2-3 hours but it was a solid 5 hours as we kept talking and I was curious about how my old best friends are.

Embracing Change and Cherishing the Past

While sitting outside, we also catch up about our struggles in life and looking back, we aren’t that bad. At least, we were all where we wanted to be in life. After talking for so long, we decided to call it a day and plan for more trips and more cafe meetups in the future. There are a few of our friends that live far away and we wanted to also bring them together. It may not be easy as most of us are working for corporations but there’s definitely a way for us to meet again.

I disappeared for a long time and was keen to rekindle my relationship with old best friends. I certainly didn’t have a lot of expectations and I told myself to accept that we might not be as close as before. But it wasn’t the case. When I talk to them, It just feels like it used to. One of them told me that a lot of our highschool friends were gossiping about how I lived my life, which was considered way too carefree for an average Indonesian and they told these people to shut up and mind their own business. I would have done the same thing to them except you know, I am not that social. But it’s definitely nice to know that since I come up to the surface again and even before, they still got my back.

" True Friends Celebrate Each Other's Success "

The friends I have are quite supportive and we always support one another. I certainly never feel any kind of envy or jealousy when I am around them. In fact, when they do well in life, I get so happy. I think it’s one of the things that makes me realize the difference between an actual friend and a fake one to me. The fake one will make anything feel a lot more like competition and silently judging behind your back but a good and real one will be happy when you’re successful and also understanding if you have problems. The good one will also be supportive of your choice but also willing to give second thoughts and act as the devil’s advocate. The fake one will talk you down of your dreams while they’re doing what it takes to steal the ideas that you have.