FRAMILY.
Framily. I thought I had been cool & made that word up, but it turns out that someone on Urban Dictionary had already beaten me to it. Whatever. It's fine, really. The point of this post isn't to say that someone thought of a cool word combination before me. The point of this post is to say that sometimes when you become friends with people (especially a group of people), they unknowingly start to play a bigger role in your life than you ever expected them to. Suddenly, you realize that these random people you befriended have become your best friends, your people you do life with, your second home.
When I was a soon-to-be freshman in high school, I didn't know what to expect from choir besides the basics: you sing, you read music, & you listen to your director. Sure, I had been in choirs before (since I was little, actually), but this was HIGH SCHOOL choir. As a middle schooler, that was kind of a big deal. What I didn't know to expect, however, was the love. The love everyone in that room would have for the class, singing, & most importantly, each other. I quickly became friends with some kids in choir. As time went on, more & more people in class accumulated together & we formed a group.
Flash forward three years later. Now, those strangers who turned into my friends are now my second family, my second home. These people have seen me at my best, at my worst, & everything in between. They're the people I would go to for anything & the people who know all my ins & outs. I guess I decided to write this post to say why these people are more than just friends or classmates to me, why they're my "framily".
1. They support you.
We all have the same love & passion for music, but we also have different passions: I love to vlog. My friend Joe loves to fence. Remi is in a rock band. Tania takes the best photos you have ever seen in your life. Whatever it is that we do, we support each other. Support of your friends is one of the main components of a good friendship in my opinion, so having an entire GROUP of friends supporting you makes you feel better about whatever you're doing in a certain way.
2. They love you through all your ups & downs (and most likely have even seen you at your worst).
We're teenagers. Most the time, my group is a sarcastic, fun-loving group of individuals who just have a passion for singing. But there are those times when someone will have terrible day. Everyone else will play around, but that person will just have a mental break down. We let them have their space, but eventually we check on them because you don't let your friend hurt alone, do you? My group of friends has seen me laugh to the point of tears, but they have also seen me be broken to the point of tears. Normally it's just stress, overworking myself, or lack of sleep, but they're still my shoulders to cry on.
3. They know what makes you tick...
Oh my GOSH. This is a big one with my group. My group eats lunch together every single day in the hallway outside of the choir room. One of the main things we do is steal each others phones, shoes, or car keys. My phone will get stolen quite often, but the thing that I get taken away from me the most is my shoes because I almost always have flip flops on. For me, my group also knows that I am extremely OCD, so they'll do things that will make me go off (leave marks on boards, keep their shirt sleeves flipped up). They mainly do it to see how long I can handle it (which isn't very long at all), but they do know what makes me tick, that's for sure!
4. which also means that you fight just like siblings.
Pointless arguments, normally. Normally our groups arguments are just debates on music or movies (sometimes TV shows), but we do bicker. I suck at comebacks, so I normally don't win, but it's okay. We always make up. I know I've had a "talking to" with some of my friends before, but it's normally just out of love, just like when everyone else does it in the group to each other. At the end of the day, we all still love each other, despite all the arguments we can get into.
5. They know your limits/ breaking points.
No, this doesn't just mean in singing. Sure, we know when someone won't be able to sing a note & that their voice is going to do a "Joe-going-through-his-voice-change-sophomore-year" voice crack, but we also know our mental & physical breaking points. The good thing about this is that when someone sees you're going to break, they can pick up where you left off or help you in some way. Leap frogging your way through certain situations in a way.
6. They push you to try new things.
Maybe it's a trust thing, maybe it's a mental thing, but I think everyone is wary to try new things in front of people sometimes. Sometimes, it turns out for the better, though. For example, I was terrified of roller coasters until my group pushed me to go on them at Disney World last year when we went for competition. Ever since then, I have LOVED going on roller coasters! They taught me that new experiences can be a good thing sometimes.
7. You always find something to do together (even if doing something just means doing nothing).
My group is notorious for going somewhere, meaning to do something, but we end up just standing in a corner & talking. At prom, we walked into the building & ended up standing in the back of the room where it was quieter & just talking for around an hour. We finished dinner early before homecoming this past year & ended up having a jam session in my living room, in our fancy clothes, for over an hour before going to the dance. Sometimes at lunch, we just lay in the middle of the hallway floor in silence, contemplating life (I guess. I honestly don't know WHY we lay in the floor half the time. But we do). The good thing about my group of friends is that even in the silence (which is rare, unless we're super tired, aka every morning before first block), we enjoy each other's company, just by knowing that the others are there.
8. They're there for all your major life events/ successes (and are even in some!).
Most of my major life successes/ events have involved my choir. Winning gold first place at competition this spring in Nashville was probably one of my top highlights. Going to Disney World my sophomore year & having the best trip of my life is another. They were there the day I turned 16 & when I became choir president (and empress). I also know, though, that they'll be there for me in future life events, such as our Disney competition this year (which will also be some of our group's senior trip together & our last choir trip ever together), our last state competition, our final choir concert together, our last day of high school together, our final moments standing in the choir room together, graduation, & so much more. Having friends there in your life events makes it even so much more special because together, you share those memories.
9. You have some of your best memories together.
This kind of ties in with the last point in a lot of ways, but it's true. Some of my best memories have been made with this group of people. I've shared my high school life with them, so it makes sense. But honestly. These people have been with me since I was a freshman, loving me as I am & supporting me in whatever I do along the way. They're in all my pictures & memories, too.
10. They're your best friends, your family.
My group has been through everything with me, some of them since high school, but some of them since I was in middle school. We've shared our lives together, know each other's families, & have made memories to last a life time together in the past three, going on four, years. They're my choir classmates, who turned into my friends, who turned into my best friends, who turned into my brothers & sisters. Together, we created a friendship family bond, one that can't be broken.
I hope that everyone can one day have a framily if they don't have one already. A group that they feel comfortable around with anything, one who will love & support them just as much as mine does me. So, to my framily (Alex, Abigayle, Randi, Tania, Bry, Flamehead, Remi, Kara, Kaytlen, Cogsworth, Marcus, Merms, Allysa, Hannah, Ava, Riley, Jessica, Big Joe, Little Joe, Jerry, John, Trent, Victoria, WC), thank you for everything. The hugs, the laughs, & the memories, both old & new. I love you guys so much. -G