Max Baldwin guest blogs: On the Importance of Friendship

As this is a time of great change it seems, in every facet of life, so too in our house where about a year ago Ruby changed her name and asked to be called Max. Now that Max is thirteen our quiet introvert has socialized, developing bonds of connection outside the family nucleus in the uncharted terrain of experiences to be had, lessons to be learned and wisdom to be gained.

In English class the other day, Max’s teacher asked the class to write an essay on the importance of friendship. her response blew me away. I’d like to share it here today:

Sometimes at night when the sea is very still, you can see the stars in its surface. The tremors of a breeze mix with the twinkle of an entire galaxy in the sky. More times than not, this sight can be so captivating that sometimes people forget to remember the ocean underneath. I am this ocean.

Because where some people may be busy appreciating the sky that I reflect, others might look deeper and see the still water underneath. 

My friends are the ones who waited long enough for the dawn. Waited for the stars to pass so that I could show my true self. They understand how my waves flow, how the fish inside of me swim, how I always fight against the storms that pass over me. How I can be still or I can be hectic, beautiful or terrifying. They stuck around through my stars and my moon to see my sun and my sky.

This is why friends are important. They will appreciate all of your beauties. They will take more than a glance and say more than, “Oh how pretty”. They will paint a picture of you in an angle that you have never thought to pay attention to. They will bring out not only your constellations but your clouds, too. Your tornados, your singing birds, your boats and your whales. They will take you for what you are an love you unconditionally.

So I will show my brightest stars and my prettiest planets for the whole world to see. But I will also disclose the shapes in my clouds and the rays of my sun to those who will take the time to notice it.

And I implore you, dear reader, to spot the people in life who not only discover your daytime but love it too, and hold onto them as if you will never let go.