Friends—Few and Far Between

It seems that the older I get, the harder it is to maintain relationships. I suppose part of it is that life becomes so busy, and our common interests and habits change so quickly that we find ourselves slowly but surely drifting apart; graduating to other environments and events in the world. I became aware of this long before I started home schooling, which I have to admit cuts down on my social interaction.

When I attended the local school for the blind, I was part of a circle of friends. Of course, we all had one thing in common; we had visual problems of varying levels. But we also had common interests; many of us liked competing in public speaking competitions, we had a Girl Scout Troop, we all loved music, reading and writing and many of us attended the same summer camp. With all of us at the same school, we were able to interact and build what we thought were meaningful relationships.

But our lives took us in different directions. Some transferred to public schools, some moved away and the rest just drifted apart. Now it is a rare occasion that I talk with even one of the people I considered a “best friend”. It seems that even year-to-year people move on, change schools, change locations and drift apart. I don’t even know what happened to some of the people I met and hung out with in my freshman and sophomore years.

I have also found that many young adults my age are not very accepting of people with disabilities, and are often embarrassed to be seen with people like me. Perhaps it is because they weren’t taught better by their parents, or maybe they are afraid, I don’t know. But they can be outright cruel at times, and I have found it difficult to meet new people, with or without a disability. I suppose that is what has led me to find my niche in the “internet community” rather than on a face to face level. People can’t see you on the internet (unless you want them to with a web cam); they don’t know that you have a disability. When I write fan fiction stories, my readers do not know I am blind nor have CP, unless I want them to know. I have been able to meet so many people that I would not have been able to otherwise, people who probably would not have given me a second thought had they met me in person.

I do have my one close friend who lives on the other side of the country. She is also blind and we met at a blind camp some years ago. We hit it off right away. We like the same foods, the same movies and books. We have managed to get together at a couple of blind events over the years, but we mostly have a long-distance friendship, talking on the phone for hours each and every weekend. I don’t plan to ever lose track of her! And hopefully, as I get older I will begin to meet people who can look past my disabilities and find me a worthwhile person to get to know. Only time will tell.