My adult friends
I have 3 adult friends. And it’s taught me the value of having a variety of perspective. In my life, I have certainly had friends with various perspectives, backgrounds, and upbringings; but the through line between them all is that they are all my age. Now, I feel like I am at a point where I can consider my adult friends my friends, and not necessarily within a mentor setting.
My friend Taylor was my boss. I was hired at South Moon Under the month after my 16th birthday. It became a wonderful community for me over the course of 3.5 years. I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world. Taylor was exactly the “adult friend” I needed at that point in my life, she understood my life, as she had graduated from my high school, but also had a much different lived experience as I had. As I got older, and “better at my job”, she trusted me to take on more responsibilities. When I thought to talk about my adult friends, Taylor is the first person I thought of. She cares for her people, she has the most infectious laugh, and she is such a hard worker. I am so thankful that the friendship has lasted the distance, age gap, and closing of our beloved South Moon Under.
I am not totally sure how to describe Johnny, but we are friends. I recently met him at my current hostess job, and he is a server. I have gotten to know him over the past 6 months, yet every new thing I learn about him doesn’t necessarily give me a clearer picture. He studied physical education for a bit, went to culinary school for a bit, and likes to swim. He says the things that you might not expect anyone to say, ever. No matter the path life takes you, stay true to yourself.
My friend Anna makes me smile. She’s also an only child, she also likes to shop, and she’s also very organized. She also is one of the craziest athletes I’ve ever met (I’ve met a lot of athletes). We like to drink coffee and chat about the menial things. She is Wisconsin through and through. I’m always reminded of that when she says “ope”. That makes me smile. She stays very true to herself, her values, her priorities no matter what curveball is thrown her way. One of my friends recently told me “I want to be like Anna when I grow up”, and I think that exemplifies exactly the type of person she is.
