It's funny how complete strangers can become so inseparable in such a relatively short time. We had been friends on Facebook for a while, because we were both members of a pretty big group on Facebook and had added each other shortly after I moved to Utah from California. However, we had never actually met in person and we had never actually had a real discussion online, we had only been liking and commenting on each other's posts for the whole time we had been Facebook friends.
One day, I came home from work and saw that he had sent me a message on Facebook. He said he knew his message was going to sound weird and random, but that he had been seeing my posts and thought I was a pretty cool guy so he wanted to finally meet up and hang out. He noticed that I was heading to Global Dance Festival in Colorado, and he told me that he had never been to a rave or festival but had always wanted to go, so he asked if it would be cool for him to go with me. I'm always happy to meet new people and make new friends, so I told him of course it would be cool!
We kept talking about how stoked we were to be going, and then finally the day came when it was time for us to set off on our adventure. The very first time we met each other in person was when he pulled up in front of my house to pick me up for our epic road trip adventure to Denver with two other strangers, who we agreed to let tag along because we found out that day that they had tickets to the festival, but no ride there.
The entire road trip consisted of us getting to know each other. I mean, what else are you supposed to do on a long road trip in a car with strangers, right? Eventually, the other two fell asleep, and he and I continued to talk and get to know each other. We talked about our lives, and the things that we're into, what kind of music we loved most, basically anything and everything. We hit it off right from the start and were just vibing really well with each other. Thank God, I thought to myself.
It would have been such an awkward experience if we ended up not clicking or not liking each other. I mean, how crazy is that, to meet someone for the first time and then the first thing you do together is go on a road trip? That's two complete strangers throwing caution to the wind and having faith in each other that they would get along just fine even though they didn't really know anything about each other!
We established a pretty strong bond from the start, but it wasn't until the last day of Global Dance Festival that we truly met each other on a raw human level and connected like neither of us probably ever expected to connect. After the final set of the night ended, we ended up chilling out on a hill with the rest of our rave squad overlooking the parking lot that we had parked at. We wanted to decompress for a bit and let all the traffic clear out before even thinking of heading back to our hotel. It was on that hill that the magic of our true friendship was established and this picture was taken. It was on that hill that a beautiful new friendship was truly born.
We switched back and forth between sitting on the grass and laying on our backs, looking up at the night sky and watching the stars as we really went deep. Together, we contemplated the nature of existence, the state of society today, we talked about whether or not aliens existed, and we discussed our understanding of friendship and what we believed "friendship" truly meant. I read to him my personal sayings on what I believe a friend is (which are at the top of my Friendship In a New Age posts), and he agreed with me wholeheartedly and threw in his two cents. We just stayed there in each other's company, talking to each other for hours.
I began to really unfold in his presence and before I knew it, I began to talk about my hopes and dreams for the future, and how I planned on moving back home to Saipan to run for Governor of the CNMI someday so that I could change the world from there. He looked me dead in the eyes and told me he believes in me and knows that I can accomplish that and I knew that he truly meant it. I stood up, and then he stood up too, so that I could hug him to express my deepest heartfelt gratitude for his faith in me and what I want to do with my life.
It was in that moment that I suddenly remembered that I had made a kandi bracelet specifically for him because I wanted to be a proper raver and follow raving traditions by giving him a rave name at his first rave. So I told him that I had something for him, and I extended my fingers toward him in a peace sign. He met my fingers with his, and we said, "Peace." We then formed our hands into a heart, with each of our hands forming one half of the heart. "Love." We flattened our palms together. "Unity." Finally, we closed our fingers around each other's hand. "Respect." I started sliding the kandi bracelet off of my wrist and transferred it onto his.
"From this moment forth, you are now 'J-Dubbz'. That is your rave name." We shifted into an embrace and he thanked me with the excitement of a child who had just received the best Christmas gift ever.
"Wow," he exclaimed. "Kaoz and J-Dubbz. That is so cool! Thank you so much man, I'll wear it forever!" From that moment on, our friendship was cemented.
"You are one of the coolest dudes I've met in a very long time man, and I'm so glad we finally met in real life. Thank you for coming on this trip with me," I told him.
"Of course man, thank you so much for letting me come with you to experience this festival with you! I think this is the start of something beautiful for both of us."
"I agree man, I completely agree. I'm so glad you think so too." It was right after that exchange, that our friend crept up in front of us to take that photograph with his Polaroid camera.
We have since then been to other festivals and events, and our bond of friendship has only grown exponentially each time we have hung out. He lives about an hour away from me, but neither of us seems to mind driving that distance to hang out with each other. Being his friend has helped me to really get serious about taking charge of my life and developing habits that help me get closer to where I want to be. He has enriched my life in so many ways, and I am always so grateful that he sent me that message on that fateful day in July. Every time I see that photograph, I go right back to that night on the hill, and I remember the moment I knew that he and I were going to develop a very deep and meaningful friendship with each other.
What a beautiful thing life is, when two people who are complete strangers to each other, take a complete chance on each other and become such great friends in such a short period of time.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! This post is an entry to @macchiata's Daily Memento contest, which you can read about here. I got excited as I read the details for the contest, because as soon as I found out what the contest entailed, the photo above was the first thing that came to mind, and I knew exactly what I had to write about. Please feel free to check out my profile and browse through my other posts, I would greatly appreciate your support! Thank you again for your time! :)
