I had an unusual request today—to blog about someone, good & bad, all of what I thought. Now, at first I was like, “Ok, she doesn’t want to be friends anymore and the first negative thing I bring up we’ll be done.” Prior to that, another person was discussing some anger towards his family and how they’ve treated him. It all boils down to one thing—we care what other people think of us.
Part of me thinks it’s simply human. Maybe just a part of being alive. Animals might even give a shit what other animals think. Otherwise, why (& how) would they mate or play? I guess we’re exactly the same—we all want to mate & play. To do that, we have to be liked. Or well tolerated, at minimum. Even if it means we’re hated by the majority. Westboro Baptists and Neo-Nazis still want the fondness of those in their (dysfunctional) little groups. Those who don’t care are probably at the top of the mentally ill and dangerous lists.
But what I want to strongly emphasize is that when you care what people think, you must understand you’re dealing with other humans. Ms. Blog Thang’s blog wouldn’t be as much about her as it would be about what I relate to in her. I could never encompass her motherhood, her marriage, or loss of a sibling because I have not walked in those flip flops. I would only be able to vividly portray the parts of me I recognize in her; the part that gives me a sense of belonging when I’m with her and when we talk. I can’t see her walk with God or what ignites inside when she does something she is quite passionate about.
And that’s true for Mr. Family Guy too. I only have my own experience to judge from. I can relate on certain issues because we’ve experienced the same emotions, but the details would escape me. The stories that mold us, while perhaps similar, will never be 100% parallel. I tend imagine our journeys on earth plotted like a map. And I place a dotted line on it of my path. I can then trace some of yours. Sure, maybe we started in the same point, we intersected at times, but the route we each take is different. And if we mapped everyone’s starting points, you’ll soon see a ton of intersections among people. Though no route is the same, we’re all criss-crossing each other somewhere.
And to me that is the joy in life. No path is exactly the same but if you look around you will realize you aren’t alone. No one but you can accurately pinpoint your heart and your ideas. But when you feel like no one is there, or has been where you have, you can close your eyes and remember that for longer than we can imagine people have walked the earth and experienced it. Maybe it wasn’t I that was on a certain part of your journey, but if you’re reading this, I’m damn sure right beside you now. You can’t feel my breath, you can’t know the prejudices I come with, but you can know the path is yours to rightfully claim and that I’m here to dance along with you. I think that’s the very best thing we can do as friends.
And, I started a new Facebook community if anyone wants to go “like” it:
APRYL.ME 
Thank you.