I've written a lot of blogs about boys. Now, I'm focusing on the much more powerful gender: girls.
Firstly, I want to say that females are both ridiculous and incredible. One day we can feel like superwoman, we can do everything, make everyone happy and be so giving and generous. The very next day we can destroy and pull apart our whole life in seconds. Knowing this is possible, and for anyone who has had this happen, we have to go through each day knowing that you have that power. You know that feeling when you see a bus zoom pass, and a tiny part of your brain says "step into the road!", or when you look off the top of a tall building and that same voice says "jump!", girls get this voice which knows how to destroy everything you love. Sometimes, that voice wins. Sometimes, we have to start from the very beginning, and build our lives again. Then that voice comes back... This is why I listen to my iPod a lot. It drowns out that voice.
So, apart from the cruel and destructive nature of the female brain, I love being a girl. I used to think that I should have been born a boy. But I'm glad I wasn't. I love having femininity, and having one week each month when I can be selfish and unreasonable, and have a bath and watch Zac Efron movies, and pamper myself stupid and eat lots of chocolate. I love going to the gym and knowing that our changing room is nicer. Our toilets are nicer. Boots was basically made for women. Men have their things which women don't get too involved in: facial hair, sports related games (football manager, fifa etc), and... there's probably more. But we have a few things which we know that guys can't do. We can wear our boyfriend's clothes, and pull it off. We can hold hands with our friends. We can crash in our friend's bed after a night out. And in the morning, when we both realise that we're just in underwear, we're fine with that.
So, this blog is an ode to all my girlfriends.
The Asian. I say 'the' meaning the first. The littlest. Chambake. Super chocolate bear. Jamal. I was so proud of myself the day I learnt to spell Chamaale... The Timone to my Pumba. The Lilo to my Stitch. The Slinky to my Rex. The Nemo to my Dorie. Even if we hadn't met at 11, we'd still have a friendship based upon extremely 11-year-old-ish things. Like stealing the blankets off each other, and chasing each other round tables. We'll always laugh together: even at a funeral, or something massively inappropriate. We both have very adult lifestyles, more so for her, with being a Doctor and all... But we'll always be children together, mocking our friend's fiancee and his girly cupcake.
My wife. My Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The one I swore to always go back to - we knew we'd never be faithful, but we'll always stay together, no matter what. We can have pillow chats about our various male friends, we can drink silly coloured drinks, fruity cocktails, or just eat fruit on a freezing beach, and we will always have something to chat about. Life didn't break us apart, moving schools, moving cities, being in different places in our lives: none of that affected our friendship, and I love our marriage for that. I love our friendship, and how amazingly simple it can be, despite our complicated lives. I love drinking wine, sitting in a hot tub, cruising down to the coast or just watching you paint a mirror frame. You make everything entertaining; even crying.
The mistress, George... Georgie Porgie, Pudding and Pie... Oh, you little fox. I love how much you've grown up since high school. I loved you when we were fifteen and you had your dorky jokes about pride and prejudice. You were always so sweet and friendly: when I saw you in Leeds, I knew that going to Uni was the best thing you'd ever done. Being in a new environment, away from her, and making new friends, made you blossom into such a lovely young lady. I'm very excited about knowing you as a woman - you're going to break a lot of hearts!
Lamasaurus. Tifa. Samwel. Samalam. Sam-Stew. The list is endless... I can't even think of a one-word description for our relationship. We became friends on our bus rides to school, and I quickly thought she was the coolest thing since sliced bread. We spent that first summer together as best friends, and it was an excellent summer. The other girls we were friends with came and went, but we stuck it out. She became a burgerer, and she was the first friend to actually succeed at burgering. We went on many journeys together - some spiritual, some geographical, some just good old fashioned road trips... A lot of water has passed under the bridge, and a lot of unsaid things, or too frequently said things, have come between us. But we're a tiny bit more mature now, and we are still as hilarious together as ever. I'll never forget how amazing it felt to sit in a pub in bungay with her, ordering far too much drink and being far too loud. She's the cookie dough and I'm the ice cream: like toast and peanut butter, two things that are great on their own, but together, make you so happy your belly smiles. She makes my belly smile.
My Millie, my milliscent... Lovely. She's my lovely. I love seeing her smile, and when she's not smiling I make it my personal mission to produce a smile on her face again. She's been a rock, a constant, a brilliant thing in my over-dramatic and sometimes over-alcohol-fueled life. She covered my ass when I fell asleep at work from a banging hang over. She helped me move 200 miles. She was there the day I met my new life, and she was still in it. She stuck out a rain-drenched McFly concert for me. She is a truly wonderful friend, and I sometimes wonder where on Earth I'd be without her... She was the person from Norfolk who I was closest with in first year, and without that I might have forgotten my other friends too. I have her to thank for so much, and the best way I can make it up to her is belittling her boyfriend's gifts and taking her to Paris. Oops.
The Flat Mate; the wild one - Maz. In second year, I sat on our sofa for about half an hour shouting "M'ria" up the stairs and you couldn't hear because you were listening to music... I don't think I'd be able to live without her, literally. She keeps my belly full and my head sane. She gives me motivation to do those things that I'd been putting off, and she helps me be the person that I want to be, not the shit person I think I am. She's met every part of my life and is so easy going and happy about it all: my crazy racist parents, my varying Norfolk friends who instantly loved her, and my uni friends who see her as their own friend anyway; she embraces so much in life and I hope that one day I can learn to be so open to new people, and so forgiving of old friends.
You six are amazing, and I hope you know this. You make me so proud to be your friend, and I am so grateful for all the times I've fucked up and you've forgiven me, or just forgotten about it. I hope this can last forever.