On Soul mates and Best friends

When I'm friends with someone, it's usually not for long. I mean, I have 'friends' that I've known my entire life. I have 'friends' that I've talked to on and off since middle school. But when I'm friends with someone, I invest myself into the relationship. I give 100% of myself to them. And then I burn out. And I realize that the whole time, I was 100% invested, while they were only around 45% invested. And that hurts. A lot.

Most of my friendships only last around a year because of this. We start off as acquaintances; classmates, camp-mates, band kids, stuff like that. We start talking during whatever stuck us together. We decide it'd be fun to hang out after class/band/camp/ect. We bond over movies/Chinese food/mutual hatred/ect. I don't have any other friends, so I only talk to them for a while. I try really hard not to be obsessive. I don't text first. I let them choose when/where/how often we hang out. But they know that if they EVER need anything, I'll be right there. And a lot of people take advantage of that. And that hurts. A lot.

But I met my current friend, Jacob, on Travel Camp almost three years ago. We didn't talk much that year, but we talked enough to be slightly more than acquaintances. Prom of my junior year, I was friends with this guy, Caleb, who I also met on Travel Camp, and I liked him. I asked him to prom, and he said yes, and I was excited. I had my dress altered and had told him what color it was. I reminded him several times about the date (he needed reminded about things- a lot.) and he said he was going. Two weeks before prom, I asked him if he had his tux. He said no. I, for good reason, was concerned. He then informed me that he thought I was joking about prom this whole time. And that hurt. A lot.

So at this point, I'm very emotional. I was on Facebook, venting to my mom. For some reason, I was talking to Jacob, and I brought this whole ordeal up. I asked him, half jokingly, to go with me. And he did. And we had a lovely time.

Hover hand. Because we're cool.

The whole gang! It was an interesting night.

After prom, we talked on Facebook a lot. We moved from acquaintances to friends. We had Nerdfightaria in common, as well as a deep love for the internet. He became the friend that understood things no one else I knew would understand.

This continued through the summer, but less. We went on Travel Camp together and we had a lovely time. Maverick and Kaitlyn also hung out with us on TC, and it made for a lovely 11 days in Canada.

Mav, Jacob, a weird Santa statue, Kaitlyn, and me on Travel Camp :)

We decided to get together and watch scary movies once a month. Mav and Kaitlyn were always busy, so Jacob and I did so without them. It was pleasant. Then we got busy and skipped it. That sucked.

Around Christmas we had another movie night. Ever since then, we've just talked ALL THE TIME.

He went to prom with me again this year. It was lovely and my dress looked fantastic.

We look so swag-tastic. And by we, I mean I.

My group of friends (who are entirely different than the ones I had last year) enjoyed his presence, so we hung out with them several other times. I hung out with his friends once, but they all function as a group and I don't like that many people at once. Regardless, we have moved from friends to best friends.

I was talking to Megan at the museum one day, and she insisted that Jacob and I would someday date. That sounds absolutely revolting. But, as it turns out, a lot of people think this. His mom, my mom, my dad, my sister, my grandma, my boss, my 'friends' at school, and pretty much anyone who has ever seen the two of us together ever. It's annoying.

But Megan also said something to me one day that stuck. We had been discussing Jacob and I's not dating, and she said something along the lines of "People don't always marry their soul mates." That just made so much sense! Jacob and I just sort of fit together. It's easy to see how everyone would think that we could make a good couple, but there is NO physical attraction from either of us to either of us. If anything, we're in love with each other's brains.

So basically, I just told you the entire story of Jacob and I's friendship to tell you: We are not dating, nor will we ever be. It has been officially recorded on the interwebs as an official, written in stone thing.

I leave you with this quote that I heard on Criminal Minds earlier this evening.

"We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person." William Somerset Maugham

**Edit**
I just found this picture on Pinterest. It belongs here.