Friendship is Magic (No really... it is)

There are many aspects of life that I would consider beautiful. From the way the flowers bloom to less obvious things, like the grace it takes to kick a ball so it will go straight into the air (there are kids at my school who can do it AMAZINGLY), art is everywhere. Sometimes, you just have to look for it.

In the Bible, it calls the fellowship of believers the "body of Christ". When I was young and hormonal, I found myself comparing my own talents to other members of the body, growing jealous and bitter because I did not possess their gifts. Now that I am older (and hopefully wiser), I have learned how much beauty there is in diversity. I may not be a great singer, but my friends Rosa, Kathy, Erin, Jasmine, Sarah, Hannah, and Nathan are. I may not be a wonderful dancer, but my friends Dustin, Anthony, Lauren, and Julie Ann are. I only know a bit of ASL, but my friends Karisa and Daphne are both very talented at it. I have teacher friends, librarian friends, theatre friends, stunt friends (pirates rock!)... When I really stop to think about it, it's like I'm in the middle of an Armour hot dogs commercial: "Tough friends, sissy friends, friends who climb on rocks."

I DO feel as though God has given me a talent for writing, but it's a lonely thing to be the only person you know with that ability. He has given me friends to come alongside me in that: Dylan and Bethie. We share story ideas with one another and write them together. When one of us writes a story, we make sure we read it and give critique on how to improve. It's a support system I would not have if I spent all my time envying their talents (by the way, they ARE rather good... and both younger than I am, so they have more years to build their craft. I know they're gonna be famous some day). :)

As humans, we are prone to mistakes. One of the mistakes I've seen repeated in my life is a frustration and jealousy toward people who are better than me at something. But really, if I would have spent less time focused on my own feelings of inferiority and more time realizing how AWESOME it was that God gave me friends with such diverse, spectacular talents... well, I'd have kept more friends, for one, and for another, I would have felt a lot more joy.

As a wise pony-show once clearly demonstrated, our differences are our strengths. The more differences there are, the more beautiful a friendship can become. I have friends who have very different interests and life-views than I do, but I appreciate their insight into things that I never would have considered. In fact, my buddy Star recently changed my mind about John Cena. Not being a wrestling fan, I thought he was just a meathead (and said as much), but she let me know that really cares about kids and has probably made more wishes come true ("Make a Wish Foundation") than any other celebrity. I never would have known that, were it not for her. Now I've got all kinds of respect for the guy.

Through the years, the thing I've learned is that it's far more fun to celebrate with people over their accomplishments than spend the day sulking at their party. What fun is that? And it wins you no points with people, either. Who wants to be around someone who's a bummer all the time? If I could just go back in time to tell "Past Jenn" these things... hey, I know we have some Doctor Who fans out there... anyone think you can hook me up with some time-travel opportunities? I'll be your frienddd...