A Friend Like Me

All my life I was longing for a friend. Someone I could always rely on. Someone I could do anything with. Someone that would always be there for me. I found her eventually, but it took some time.

Growing up I was always that third wheel in the group, the one that had only one friend. And that friend was always friends with everyone else. I was the tag along. And in high school, I’d have that one best friend that was a user and abuser. Do for me friend. But I’d get very little in return. The only good thing that came out of it was meeting my husband through it all. But still, I always yearned for a friend like me.

After I graduated, I got pregnant. Married my high school sweetheart and soon had a family. When I was pregnant, waiting for my first born to come, I’d crank up the blue genie figurine from Aladdin, place it on my belly and see my little one dance within me. Finally I thought this is what I’ve been waiting for. A friend. That unconditional type I’ve always been wanting all my life.

We had a son. And it’s been one of the greatest joys of my life. Later on, we were blessed with a daughter. I was thrilled.

But as the years went on, they got older. Now in their teens, they don’t really need Mom around that much. And throughout my life I’ve suffered with manic depression too. Still yearning for that special something that I’ve missed most of my life. After I was diagnosed Bipolar back in 2004, my doctor suggested I write as a coping skill. And so I tried it out, first starting with poems to write my thoughts down. I showed it to a few family members and some friendly co-workers and they all agreed I should send it to a magazine somewhere. Well, that’s when my writing took off.

Eventually through it all, I turned to novel writing. Thinking up characters. Making them do whatever I pleased. Giving them a world that I controlled. Finally I had control over something in my life. That’s when I met her—the most wonderful muse I could ever have. Together we could do anything. And whenever I needed her, she’d always be there for me. And then there are those times when I don’t write, she calls for me to come back and play with her.

Reading and writing is one of the greatest gifts known to man. It can throw you into the hottest of deserts or the coldest of winters. It can take you on a journey that you’ve never experienced before. And it can also make you a better person when you come out of it. You can be anything, go anywhere and do all the things you’ve always dreamed of all by cracking open a book or putting a pen to paper.

So if you’re ever looking for a friend—a true friend that you’ve always wished for (a genie all of your own) call upon your muse and write out a world of your dreams. Remember you don’t have to look far, there’s a best friend within all of us. And that best friend is you!

The Genie: Friend Like Me