2 min read
“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”
Friendship, with the right friend, is pure MAGIC…no matter your age.
Friendship in your childhood especially is just FUN…so much so that when you go to see your friends, it is actually called a PLAY DATE.
Friendship in adulthood is much more complicated.
…at what age do we lose the PLAY part of our DATE?
Age 11 is my guess. The TWEEN years.
As I watch my daughter navigate the new social garbage that comes with GRADE 6, I am reminded of my own pain that started in those years…and how friendships quickly changed and, how seemingly simple conversations became more embedded in drama.
Ugh.
Apparently this is “normal”…and related to the brain, and how it grows.
In your tweens (roughly starting around age 11) studies have proven that your amygdala and frontal lobes start growing at different rates. This imbalance causes challenges…especially when all of the other tweens around you are also out of balance.
Today, conversations with my tween in our home are often centred on trouble-shooting these challenges, and honestly, I find it interesting how many relatable stories pop up tied in with my personal and professional ADULT life.
Again, ugh…
Finding someone that fully gets you, AND fully accepts you is rare…but when you do, the joy experienced through this companionship enriches our entire experience of the world…both in work, and PLAY.
My daughter recently wanted to show a friend who had drifted through her drawings why she values her as a friend…shown here in this post.
From snowball fights to car rides to just being there when your online game crashes…these images say SO much and, to me, are such a great reminder of the simplicity in the power of the worlds that friendship imprints in our minds.
So, why not focus on the positive?
Drop the drama.
Be the friend with the balanced brain.
And no matter your age, find time to PLAY.
It will be good for you.
IT is life
IT changes…and that’s OK
IT is all OK
Credits, and Kudos
Raffi Cavoukian
Dr. Dimitri Christakis
Through stories and connections planITgirl’s goal is to help people who have been impacted by trauma to understand what trauma is, and how it may be impacting them…or someone they know.
The founder is a writer and speaker who strives to share her personal journey of living with trauma and PTSD in a forward-thinking, positive, professional and connective format.
If you feel (or care for someone who feels) lost, isolated, different, stuck and misunderstood, we hope the thoughts, stories and connections shared will resonate with you.