Brit Brit Land

Day 18: Tell a Story of Your Childhood

I have a couple of people I consider best friends, because like Mindy says on The Mindy Project, best friends are not a person, it’s a tier. Anyway, for the story from my childhood I thought I’d tell y’all the story of how I met my oldest friend, Jamie. We met when we were both 10 and in 5th grade and I often tell the story of how we met because it’s utterly ridiculous and hilarious.

I started a new school in 5th grade and I immediately became friends with this bossy little girl named Haley. I liked Haley but she seemed a bit stuck up and not very friendly with any of the other girls in our grade, she also was a bit possessive of her friends. Still, I went with it because I was 10 and didn’t really care all that much. Friendship is a fickle thing in elementary school. 

One day Haley and I walked by Jamie and another girl (in their cheerleading uniforms) talking to a group of boys (I believe they were football players, this is so ridiculous) and Haley says “slut” in Jamie’s direction. OK, issue #1, what kind of 5th grader knows the term slut? After Haley threw out her extremely advanced derogatory term at Jamie, Jamie came back with the best comeback ever “at least I can get some”. OK, now I know what you’re thinking, what the hell was going on at this elementary school? And trust me, I don’t know but I can assure you that neither of them  really understood what they were saying. I felt like it was one of those scenarios where they just heard something on TV or something their older brothers/sisters said and repeated it. 

This was a completely bizarre scenario for me to witness because I was a very quiet child. I just sort of read books and did my own thing and wasn’t really accustomed to the world of mean girls and “slut shaming” at age 10. Still, I recognized something was inherently off about Haley’s remarks and incredibly quick-witted and kind of great about Jamie’s and that got me thinking that maybe I was friends with the wrong girl. I didn’t really have to choose between the two but I kind of wanted to.

Regardless of the inappropriate dialogue between children, I learned a couple of things that day. 

1. Jamie was AWESOME

2. Haley was one of those girls who didn’t like other girls

3. I was so NOT one of those girls who don’t like other girls

I tried to maintain a friendship with Haley afterwards but like I said, she was a bit possessive of her friends and I never really felt the same way about her after that. Jamie and I on the other hand, have maintained a friendship that lasted through jr high, high school, my moving away to college, my moving back from college, and now my moving off to another city. I tell this story to people because it’s hilarious when you really think about it, borderline unbelievable (I swear it happened), and introduced me to a life long friend. Jamie was a bit of a hell raiser and I like to think that I came out of my shell thanks to her. We’ve each picked up friends here and there and added to our own group while making our own separate friends but she’s someone I’ll consider a lifelong friend…and it all started because she’s really good at thinking of sassy comebacks.

Day 17: Favorite Photo of Yourself

I’m not a huge photo person but I love this picture because it was one of the few times all my friends were able to get together and have fun! Growing up means busy schedules and lives and my friend Kelsey decided to throw a NYE party and we all just randomly ended up there having fun. She created a photo wall and had props and it was just a really fun experience!