Quality vs. quantity

  

Today during our lunch at home, we had our casual conversation at table. Since I am starting my fourth year at school, my parents told me that I had to make loads of friends once school started. I told them it’s going to be hard because I already have friends that are my type. You know how it’s easier to make friends that are your type because you have everything in common so you get along just fine. Unfortunately, they did not see my logic. They say it’s healthier to have different types of friends. From kindergarten to third grade I had just three friends. Their names are Sanjith, Nikhil, and Dylan. I am really close to them. I Love being with them and do almost everything with them. Let’s just say, they are my Best friends. But, my parents said the minimum friends I should have is ten considering the fact that Nikhil has twenty. Wow, how does that matter?  They also came up with their past experiences like when they were kids how they managed to have tons of friends and how cool it was and etc. somehow, I could never buy that. However my Dad insisted that every week he would ask me if I made any new friends. Now I am nervous and besides Sanjith and Dylan are the only friend left ‘because Nikhil went to India for good. So now, I have to make new friends.   Anyways do you think it’s a good idea to have more friends that are okay or is it a good idea to have few friends that are super good.  

Experience as an Explorer

Today when I went to the park the first person I noticed was Tarran. I met him a few days ago and realized he comes to the park every day like me, pretty much the same time. We started playing.  Initially, we got chased by Tarran’s brother for a while for fun. Few minutes later I told him about this lake close by. He agreed to join me to explore the lake. We had to travel really far. While travelling we had to take loads of turns, pass by sharp trees and heavy trunks. At this time we realized we were lost. We even got spooked. We thought we heard mountain lions. Usually mountain lions are found in deep and thick woods in the neighborhood. So, hearing mountain lions was not something uncommon but kids were prohibited in those areas. We started sharing stories about seeing mountain lions before.  While we were talking I was devastated to see a fence. That fence was an indication of no trespassing and I have never been so far before. At this time, my friend almost freaked about taking the wrong path. I was nervous and tensed. I thought I was lost forever and I also realized that it was a bad idea to misguide my friend. While we were worried, we luckily spotted few old men who were taking a stroll. I was so happy to see them as I could recognize few of them from my neighborhood. I immediately approached them and asked for the directions. Once we got the directions we got on our bikes and rode the path they told us to take. On the way we met loads of kids, we even saw my third grade classmate. Now that was an indication that we were almost near the park. I was never this relieved.

I have learnt one thing though, while doing something mischievously mysterious at least keep one person informed.

     

Lesson from a Lie!

One day when I was at school I heard my classmates talking about this computer game called Wizard 101. They were almost raving about it. I so wanted to be part of it. So, I walked up to them and said I beat the whole game. Then they started testing me weather I was lying or not, by asking me questions that included the characters of the game. Unfortunately I had no clue. That’s when they came to a conclusion that I was lying but I kept negotiating with them. When I got home I told my mom about the lie and when she asked me why I did it, the only thing I could think of was that I wanted to be accepted and included in the discussion. That’s when she says, there was no need to lie to be part of that discussion. I might as well say I didn’t know that a game like that existed and I wanted to know more. They would have been more than happy to share details about it. Actually she was right. Why didn’t I think of that? Well, what do u expect, I am just nine.  As the day passed, mom downloaded wizard 101. At first it seemed difficult then I started to get the hang of it. Every day I played wizard 101 to go to higher levels. I even went to a higher level than one of my classmates. But I still felt miserable that I told a lie though I eventually got over it.

The lesson is simple; I don’t have to lie to be part of something. It saves some misery and embarrassment.