Tuesday 17 March 2015

With friends

Summer bid its farewell a couple of weeks ago and as the cardigans come out and the boots slip on, I'm starting to miss those warmer days and those breezy nights.

The weather has started to shift here in Australia and we're starting to see the true colours of Autumn among us. The wind is crisper and the days are shorter and I can sense, as George R R Martin would say, Winter is coming.

Summer was filled with friends, new and old. We road tripped together; windows down, music up. We brunched together and have the Instagram photos to prove it. We played video games until the wee hours of the morning and laughed about silly things I cannot repeat on here. 

...and just like that, I felt like a kid again.

It's important to feel young in your life and it's important to have friends who remind you of that. 

Lately, many of my conversations with friends have been about how old we're getting, how it's been several years since school, how everyone around us is getting married, how we work hard and have bills to pay and how the troubles of our teenage selves are so puny compared to the troubles we face now. We worry about how much harder life will get, and how crazy the housing market is and how consumerism is destroying our world.

I've found that while these conversations are important and probably should occur regularly, it's also important to prioritise the young child inside of you, to let him/her out to play, to enjoy yourself again.

Life is all about the balance.

You can't expect to excel without working hard but you can't expect to be happy without a little relaxation and fun. You owe it to yourself and those around you to find the perfect balance in your life. You also deserve to find friends who bring out the good in you and help you relax and forget your worries, but also friends who motivate you and push you forward to achieving your goals.

I want to be that kind of friend, a friend who seeks to maintain balance in the lives of those I love. I know how hard it is to find balance when it's just me trying to figure it out, but when I have loving and supportive peers and friends around me, I feel like I can accomplish anything.

I want to do that for others. I really do.

Because everything seems better with friends, don't ya think?

Tell me, what kind of 'friend' do you value the most? 

18 comments:

  1. the kind of friends who stick around, the kind i can grow old with, even if we're apart.
    p.s the light in these photos are so beautiful <3

    Sharon

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  2. Goodness! Those photos are so enchanting and breathtaking! I never get tired of seeing your photos. :)
    I value friends who are trustworthy but are also good listeners. I seem to find friends who talk and talk, and they never really listens to me. I don't mind talkative people, but I also think there is a time to talk and a time to listen.
    I bet Australia's lovely in the autumn time. :) Spring is finally making its way to where I live (America). Beautiful post, Samantha! <3

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    1. Yes! How important is listening! I also love people who genuinely ask me questions about my life with a true care of what my answer will be.

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  3. oh my. i have to say i'm with Eve in that i'll never ever never tire of your photographs because they make every event look so amazing. i am scared and missing winter, but you make me believe that summer can be beautiful again, dear Sam.
    life IS about balance, and i seem to be learning that more and more every day.

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  4. Friends are the best. I love my bestie that was a former college roommate. We did a lot of learning and growing together!
    These photographs are magical and perfectly capture summer time.

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  5. wow, I forgot that our seasons are switched! in america, we are just now getting to the hot summer. enjoy all the winter that's coming for you!

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  6. I have the same conversation with my friends too Sam. It's funny because our younger selves would have laughed at the seriousness of it all. But then again there will always be a kid in us that never grows up and has these simple and shallow joys, like swings and seesaws. :) I really love the way you tell stories with your photos Sam. It would be an honor to be photographed by you. You're amazing. As for your question, the kind of friends I value the most are those who never bail out when the tough gets going. I learned this the hard way when my dad passed away. When everything seems to crumble down and you yourself are in some state of distraught, you find that there are people no matter how long or short you've known each other and no matter how constant or occasional you see each other, they will be there for you when you need it most. No ifs and buts. They'll go out of their way. They're there with a great big hug for you. Those friends are to value the most. :)

    Anne's Scribbles and Doodles

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    1. You summed friendship up perfectly.

      For me also, I love that with some of my friends I may not see them for weeks, months even, but when we do see each other its like we were never apart. It's just fully natural and real.

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  7. You guys look like you've had an awesome time with amazing photos, and I miss summer too. I reckon when I leave school (years from now) I'll want the same thing. I don't want to grow up because these puny teenage problems are amazing and I'm scared. I guess growing with friends growing alongside you just makes everything better. Friends who'll stick with you. That's what's important.

    -M
    The Life of Little Me

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    1. I'm sorry for calling them puny. It was a bit of generalisation. There are so many problems I faced being a teenager that were so much harder than the problems I face now. Be strong and remember to keep the love of those around you strong.

      Thank you!

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  8. love this. and also your photos are just wow, not to mention your haaaair (it is soooo lovely).

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  9. Beautiful photos Sam. Looks like a wonderful time x

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  10. I love these photos - they remind me so much of my summers spent in Deniliquin with my family! I can just feel the warm, slightly sticky weather through the images! Great work!

    I value the friendships that are long-lasting and enduring, those who I grew up with, those who have seen me at my worst, my best and those who stuck with me through all my bad haircuts, boy troubles and constant need to move around to experience something new.

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  11. I love how we are experiencing the opposite seasons. It reminds me to be thankful and enjoy the different joys of each and every season.
    I am experiencing that whole "grown-up" thing too. I think I need to prioritize more time to be a kid again though, because it does bring such a feeling of freedom and fun.
    Happy Fall to you my sweet friend! :)

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  12. Beautiful words and photos as usual. To answer your question I think the friendship I value the most is with my friend Emma - we've been friends since she was assigned to be my buddy in grade 8 at school which is 10 years(!!!) but we were actually in the same classroom for a term at the end of grade 4 before she changed schools. We don't see each other often but when we do it's like nothing has changed which is quite a rare thing to have with a friend.

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  13. these are so full of the beauty of summer, it has me even more excited for summer's arrival in the states. :)
    and i was just having a conversation similar to this one with my best friend last weekend. life is so full of crazy!

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  14. These are some awesome photos! You have an awesome blog!

    ~Racic | Washed by the Water

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  15. I value the sort of friend who can have those important conversation but is also able to have fun with you. I think friendships like that, real ones are few and far between. I'm thinking of a specific time with one of my closest friends where she was experiencing a lot of fun happy things worth celebrating and also thinking about a lot of big life things and being about to talk to her about both and be present for it all just solidified our friendship for me.

    Try not to stress too much about the big things, Although they are all very important issues, you're right, you need to enjoy your life with good people because we do all those things, like working and paying bills, to live good lives.
    :) xx

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