United By A Cause, Lost Without A Purpose

The answers to the title of this entry: Friends and friendship.

Looking at all the councillors who attended today’s event at the beaches of Sentosa, it dawned upon me. Here is a group of people I have gotten to know over the course of the past few weeks. I have gotten to know more people and worked often with quite a few of them. They welcomed me into their already-tight group and I have gotten along well with them. Here we are, on Sentosa, united by a cause: The upcoming camp.

Looking at all the councillors who attended today’s event at the beaches of Sentosa, something else dawned upon me. Here is a group of people I will not see two weeks from now. No matter how much I have seen them, talked to them or worked with them over the past few weeks, these friendships made seem to be missing something. What remains to see is whether all these will be lost in two weeks time, without a purpose: No more camp activities.

How can I forge friendships that last?
How do I make friends who will stay in contact after the party is over?
Do I arrange for dinner gatherings that start with "How have you been?"?
Do I send messages over the mobile or through MSN to them to remind them of me?
Does a simple wave, when we pass each other along the corridor, suffice?
Does it count if I go out of the way to make a friend be aware of me?

"Hi-Bye" acquaintances or "Good friends in-the-making"? I don’t know. Maybe I should just cherish this moment, basking in the company of these new friends. Maybe it’ll work out and I’ll see more of them after the camp in meetings and lunches that don’t end in awkward silences. Maybe…

"Walking all the days of my life
I must have passed you by
a thousand times
Talking ’til the dawn
breaks the night
with so many friends by my side
but I’ve never felt so alone…"

– Maybe by Liberty X from the album, Being Somebody