I am an island-hopper and my friends are the islands.
These islands come in many different sizes. You have the one-person islands which as the name suggests are made up one individual. And then there are the bigger ones that vary in size but consist of people that generally have something in common. The landscapes on these different islands are always different and although I try to be myself wherever I go, I find myself adapting and trying to fit in. In the course of my life, I've sailed endlessly back and forth, here and there, all over the ocean that separates my constellation of islands.
Sailing to and from different islands and adapting to each unique environment is really tiring work and sometimes I just wish that my islands were just one big land mass. I could just stay on one island, THE island, and sip my pineapple juice... I would never go sailing again...
Alas, that is not the case...
So, what am I trying to say? I'm just trying to express how troublesome and uncomfortable it is to bring two islands together. (I guess this is where my analogy dies because I am only an island-hopping adventurer and not a god who can bring land masses together, but you get my drift...) When you have two groups of friends (or a group and an individual or two individuals) who don't know each other and who are separated by age, gender, ethnicity, whatever, it can often be a daunting task for the mediator to connect these two separate entities. And age, gender, and ethnicity are only the beginning as people also have different personalities, ideas, likes and dislikes, etc. Yeah, in the end, there are so many stinkin' complications...
As the go-between, I often find myself dreading these situations because I don't like sensing any sort of discomfort on my friends' parts. I don't want to put my friends in awkward situations. More than that, it's probably because I myself don't like awkward situations and will try to avoid them at all costs. So yeah, I blame myself because sometimes I'm the reason that two islands can't be brought together. But then again, there are those friends who just refuse to even give it a shot to get to know others in their indifference or disapproval. I can understand shyness, but not these other reasons. Come on, what's the harm? Make it easy on me, yeah?
On the other hand, there are those people who are just so refreshing that they can connect with strangers and acquaintances alike. You remember how North America and Asia were once connected by a land bridge? Yeah, these people are little land bridges connecting islands together. To these people, I really tip my hat...
I guess all of this is just an observation about myself and how I perceive my friends. I'm not even sure I like the idea of island-hopping... But my point is that 1) my friends are rarely friends with each other, 2) I don't like juggling around different people, and 3) I wish things were simpler. I'm done.
These islands come in many different sizes. You have the one-person islands which as the name suggests are made up one individual. And then there are the bigger ones that vary in size but consist of people that generally have something in common. The landscapes on these different islands are always different and although I try to be myself wherever I go, I find myself adapting and trying to fit in. In the course of my life, I've sailed endlessly back and forth, here and there, all over the ocean that separates my constellation of islands.
Sailing to and from different islands and adapting to each unique environment is really tiring work and sometimes I just wish that my islands were just one big land mass. I could just stay on one island, THE island, and sip my pineapple juice... I would never go sailing again...
Alas, that is not the case...
So, what am I trying to say? I'm just trying to express how troublesome and uncomfortable it is to bring two islands together. (I guess this is where my analogy dies because I am only an island-hopping adventurer and not a god who can bring land masses together, but you get my drift...) When you have two groups of friends (or a group and an individual or two individuals) who don't know each other and who are separated by age, gender, ethnicity, whatever, it can often be a daunting task for the mediator to connect these two separate entities. And age, gender, and ethnicity are only the beginning as people also have different personalities, ideas, likes and dislikes, etc. Yeah, in the end, there are so many stinkin' complications...
As the go-between, I often find myself dreading these situations because I don't like sensing any sort of discomfort on my friends' parts. I don't want to put my friends in awkward situations. More than that, it's probably because I myself don't like awkward situations and will try to avoid them at all costs. So yeah, I blame myself because sometimes I'm the reason that two islands can't be brought together. But then again, there are those friends who just refuse to even give it a shot to get to know others in their indifference or disapproval. I can understand shyness, but not these other reasons. Come on, what's the harm? Make it easy on me, yeah?
On the other hand, there are those people who are just so refreshing that they can connect with strangers and acquaintances alike. You remember how North America and Asia were once connected by a land bridge? Yeah, these people are little land bridges connecting islands together. To these people, I really tip my hat...
I guess all of this is just an observation about myself and how I perceive my friends. I'm not even sure I like the idea of island-hopping... But my point is that 1) my friends are rarely friends with each other, 2) I don't like juggling around different people, and 3) I wish things were simpler. I'm done.
