Sometimes, when you have been friends or known someone for a really long time, it is really easy to lose sight of where you came from. Not only as a relationship with that person but yourself as an individual as well. I have known Lydia since I was 16 years old.
We both grew up in southeast Michigan, were born and raised Wolverine fans, and shared a deep love for the game of basketball. I met Lyd playing for the Motor City Blazers, a AAU girls basketball team based out of Detroit. From the get-go, Lydia and I bantered over movie lines, shared the same love of music, and always seemed to stay up later on our team retreats talking about life.
Life is a wild and crazy thing. After we graduated, Lydia and I ended up hopping against each other in college. The first couple of years of school we didn’t stay in touch the same way we did in high school. I can probably take ownership here on the brief falling out. You see, Lydia and I both grew up in Catholic homes. It was during my freshman year in college I was able to say out loud to other people that I thought I was bi-sexual. Over time, specifically those two years, I realized I wasn’t bi but I was gay. Writing this reflection, I don’t remember how we came out to each other or how we ended up spending a lot of our free time outside of college hoops and class together. But we did. I went to my first Pride in Lansing Michigan with Lydia and we saw Melissa Ferrick. It was epic. We would road trip to watch friends and/or girls we dated that hooped around the state and even in Ohio. We went to Michigan games together and frequented Stilettos in Detroit. Lydia and I both left our home state of Michigan after undergrad, but we have stayed in touch throughout the years.
Quite frankly, in a lot of ways, nothing has really changed. We still talk hoops and debate on the style of certain players. We share broken hearts of the ever-disappointing record of Michigan football and watching Michigan lose in March Madness. We also still talk deeply about life. The topics have matured and changed, but for me, my friendship with Lyd is reminder of how we can grow individual and within relationship. Though life always offers moments where we feel stagnant in our growth, I think it’s fair to say, Lydia and I have always been on this path of transformation. I hope you have someone in your tribe like Lydia. I know I am eternally grateful for our memories and all the ways we continue to grow as people.
Flex This 