It's A Small, Small World

Today as I was coming back from Aikido class, I bumped into a friend of mine whom I'd only seen once, up to that point. I met her when we were both involved in a simulated patient exercise for medical students, and we just clicked. In those nine hours we spent together, we talked about school, university, hobbies, movies, TV...basically, we got to know each other quite well. And we made sure to trade Facebook and email before parting ways.

After that, I didn't see her again. But we still kept in touch - and then I bumped into her today. And we picked up right where we left off. It was the easiest thing in the world to make conversation - I can't speak for her, but I didn't even have to think about what to say.

It's funny, isn't it, how life sometimes works out? You meet someone new and have a great time, then you part ways and never see them again, only to bump into each other when you least expect it, and if the chemistry's there, you can talk as if you see each other everyday. I think that to find that kind of thing, that kind of connection - I think it's magic.

It's strange that you can get along better with someone you've only known for mere hours than you do with people who have been in your class for ten years. In fact, it's usually the snap connections that last - the few minutes you spend talking to someone new, if there's a connection to be made, it's made then. And if it's good, if the chemistry's good, then you can not see each other for months, sometimes years - and you can still meet up again and continue with a, "Hey, how's it going?" before launching into an animated conversation that's as easy as breathing. Of course, it doesn't happen with everyone you meet - it's sometimes difficult to find that in someone at all - but when you do, like I said, it's magic.

Whereas, you could go for years before getting to know - REALLY getting to know - somebody you've seen every week for years. Maybe it's because the connection isn't there, maybe because the circumstances aren't right yet, or maybe it's because this specific friendship is the type that takes a long time to establish. Whatever the case, I just think that the best friendships are those born from the first interaction. If you forge a connection then, you're in for something special, even if you end up not seeing each other for months after that. I actually am of the opinion that the prolonged separation only strengthens the friendship, because if the connection is still there even when you meet sporadically, then you know it's a relationship to be proud of.