03/29/2026
๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: ๐๐ก๐ ๐
๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง
This Friday, I had the chance to see a dear friend from my Shenandoah Conservatory days perform as Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast at the National Theatre.
Standing there afterward, catching up and taking this photo . . . I was reminded of a very different time in my life.
Back then, friendship felt effortless.
In college, we saw each other every day.
In New York City, it continued - auditions, side jobs, late nights, last-minute plans . . .
โHey, what are you doing later?โ
โWant to grab lunch?โ
โLetโs go see a show.โ
โLetโs go to the club tonight.โ
It didnโt require planning.
It didnโt require permission.
It just happened.
Life looks different now.
Since moving, Iโve built connections with some really wonderful people here in Southern Maryland.
People I genuinely enjoy spending time with.
People I share experiences with - like nights at the theater.
But Iโve noticed something.
Those friendships often live within a certain space.
Theatre friends.
Fitness friends.
Client relationships that are warm and meaningful, but donโt often extend much beyond the studio.
All meaningful.
All real.
But often existing within a defined space.
And outside of that space, things tend to slow down.
Iโve spent some time trying to understand why.
Maybe itโs a different stage of life.
Maybe itโs being in a place where people already have their circles.
Maybe itโs that many are building lives centered around family, while mine looks different.
Or maybe, at times, Iโve held back more than I should.
And part of it . . . is simply the reality of how I work.
As a massage therapist, my schedule often lives in the hours when most people are connecting -
evenings and weekends, when social life tends to happen.
Even something like community theater, which I genuinely enjoy and would naturally gravitate toward, comes with a level of time commitment thatโs difficult to sustain with a non-traditional schedule.
Rehearsals, weekend performances, cast gatherings . . .
itโs not always easy to make that fit.
So while the desire for community is there,
the path to it isnโt always as straightforward as it once was.
But hereโs what I keep coming back to:
I donโt think the idea of authentic friendship disappears.
But I do think it evolves.
Sometimes it becomes more structured.
More scheduled.
More contained.
That doesnโt make it less meaningful.
But it does make it different.
So lately, Iโve been learning something I didnโt expect at this stage of life -
how to become a steady friend to myself.
To enjoy my own company.
To stay open without forcing connection.
To appreciate the friendships that do exist, even if they donโt look the way they once did.
And maybe part of growth is learning to live comfortably in both realities at once.
Grateful for the connections that show up when they do - and grounded enough to stand in the space in between.
โ
If any part of this feels familiar, Iโd be curious to hear your experience.
