Friends included. Batteries sold separately.

I know it sounds bad, but we all sorta choose our friends. Or we at least choose the level of interaction we have with those whose personalities just don’t gel with our own. 

But “second generation” friends are a little bit more complicated. Y’ know, the friends you suddenly gained because they are friends with the person you love. 

You didn’t get to know each other from ‘neutral’ ground. They are his friends and you are his friend. 

You never shared the same experiences that bind them together. Hell, you might not even like them. On your own, you might never have interacted with them on the same level. 

But here you are, his friends are your friends now. You want to show up to support, to just show up, to exist in the same world… but you also get pretty uncomfortable. Personality clashes and all that jazz. They are not bad people, just very different and you kinda don’t have a choice.

Considering also my very limited supply of social energy, it’s oftentimes very stressful. It’s one thing to be in a relationship with an extrovert, it’s another to gain a bunch of extroverts as friends. You can imagine how it drives me nuts. Get ready, put on smiley face, put on bright eyes, get ready to laugh, nod, talk and talk and talk, breathe, it’s getting too loud!, breathe, smile.

 

Okay, I probably made this sound much worse and crazier than it really is, but I think I speak for most introverts when I describe how a cacophony of sirens and horns go off in our minds when we find ourselves in such situations.

Despite all that, I want to love because it’s what Jesus commands. It’s not like situations could change so I can only pray and hope that God helps to deal with it. And I suppose I don’t have to like them to love them… Right? 

Perhaps I’ll love them from afar. ;p