A Crazy Realization

I've got this friend. Her name is Why, in the same way that my name is What. (In fact, she named me What, and I, in turn, named her Why.)

Why and I will have been friends for ten years September 1st. This is amazing to me. You may ask, Why? You may also ask Why, but that would be silly, since I am about to tell you. ;)

You see, Why is from Indiana, and I am from SoCal. Why lives in Pennsylvania, and I am still in SoCal. We met at a little college in the middle of Illinois cornfields. I wasn't even supposed to be at that college. I got in at the last minute. I didn't know until the end of July that I was moving at the end of August, and I only stayed one year.

Why and I met a few days after I arrived, and when I moved out of temporary housing, I ended up across the hall from her. There were probably thirty girls on that hall. Four of us became good friends- Why, Ampf, Who (she's worthy of a post herself!) and me (What).

There were others in our circle, to be sure. There were also MarciaMarciaMarcia, Numbski, the Walking Soap Opera Girl, Sarah from Wiscænsin, Smarzy (Sarah's triplet), Stacey and her Marine (he wasn't on campus, but we counted him as one of us), Ry-ry, and the Jerk whose nickname is not one I wish to type here.

As I said, I was only at the College in the Cornfields* for one year. The last I saw most of these friends was in May of 1998. The Jerk dropped out of my life completely that November. I lost track of Marcia pretty fast. I've found and lost Smarzy a couple times. Who and Ry-ry ended up married, and they've moved so many times that I no longer know how to reach them. I lost track of Sarah when she finished grad school, because I haven't seen her online since. I have no idea how I lost track of Stacey and her Marine (they also got married). Soap Girl, last I heard, is still herself, and still in Ohio. This leaves Why, Ampf, and Numbski.

I haven't seen Ampf since I left Illinois. This makes me a little sad, because Ampf was a good friend. Unlike so many others, though, Ampf is neither lost nor misplaced. I see her online sometimes, and we've managed to keep in touch, relatively. Numbski was out here a couple years ago, for he has family in SoCal. Actually, he was even at my college graduation, only neither of us knew it until a week or two after the fact. We did get to hang out when he was here in 2005, though, and I got to meet his wife. Yay!

Which brings me to Why, my closest friend remaining from the original posse. She came to visit in January of 2001. My parents remember her as "that weird girl." And she is. But she's also my friend. And what's crazy is we've been friends for almost ten years and, except for that one week six and a half years ago, that friendship has been successfully maintained by phone, email, and various messaging platforms for nine years.

I guess this is why I have no issues with the idea of online friendships. I've seen how well they can work. You just have to be willing to put some effort into it, but then, that's no less true in person.

Why, my crazy friend, I am glad to be able to call you sister.

*waves to Numbski, who will most likely read this, and to Ampf, who also might*

*College in the Cornfields is not its actual name. This name has been changed to protect the innocent (until proven guilty).

EDIT: Soap Girl left me a message at my myspace, which I never check. Hi to you too!