Maura: All right. Now let’s get to today’s episode. Today’s episode is a Chatterbox episode, and that is when Harp and I just get to chat.
Harp: Yes. Today we’re talking about friendship.
Maura: That’s right. Now, we’re first going to start talking about friendship when you’re a kid, and what that is like. We’re gonna talk about what it’s like in Canada and we’re gonna talk about our own experiences.
Harp: Yeah. And then we’re gonna talk about friendship with technology, and how that’s changing and making things different.
Maura: That’s right. And then we’re gonna talk about making friends as an adult, because I’ve heard some people find it difficult.
Harp: Yeah. So let’s get started.
Maura: So when you were young, Harp, did you have a lot of friends or did you have just a few really good friends?
Harp: I had a few really good friends. I was really shy, so I wasn’t the kind of kid who made a lot of friends. But when I made a friend, they were a good friend.
Maura: That’s nice. So, it was someone that you could really trust and knew that you could count on?
Harp: Yeah. And play with. Play Barbies or make up games.
Maura: Yeah. Those are very important qualities when you’re a kid; trying to find a person that you can play with and have fun with. But that ends up being pretty much everybody.
Harp: I know. That’s the thing. When you’re a kid, it’s just so easy to make friends.
Maura: That’s true. As long as you can get together and you like doing the same things, then your friendship is pretty much set.
Harp: What about you? Did you have a lot of friends when you were a kid?
Maura: I actually had a pretty big group of friends. At school, I was friends with most people in my class. There was a really big group of us. Of course, some of those people were closer friends than others. But I tended to get along with everybody. And I’ve always been pretty outgoing and friendly. So, yeah, I made a lot of friends easily.
Harp: OK. That’s cool. And now, Maura, I don’t think I even know this about you. But did you grow up in a school that you walked to when you were a kid? So were all your friends close by?
Maura: Yeah. I went to a few different schools growing up, but for the most part, the school that I went to was walking distance. And so, yeah, all of my friends lived in the neighbourhood and I could walk there. Although to tell you the truth, most of the time I still got a ride from my parents.
Harp: Lucky! I remember walking even when there were snow storms.
Maura: Yeah. So it made spending time with friends after school pretty easy. What about you?
Harp: Yeah, same thing. I lived within walking distance. I went to a couple different schools, but all the time I could walk to school and almost every one of my friends lived close by.
Maura: One thing I remember about my friendships when I was young was that there was always some kind of drama happening. One friend got mad at another friend and then you had to decide who… whose side you were on. And sometimes the fights between people could go on for a month at a time. I really didn’t like participating in that, actually.
Harp: Yeah. It’s funny because it’s easy to become friends when you’re a kid, but it’s so easy to just switch and then all of a sudden you’re not friends, and people are mad at you, and then there’s drama. I think maybe because there’s nothing else going on in life. You don’t have a job; you just have school and home. And these problems, which really aren’t problems, become so big and important when you’re a kid.
Maura: Yeah. Some people just make a mountain out of a mole hill and one little comment turns into an argument that lasts for a week. It’s a bit crazy. But that’s what they say: kids are mean. And sometimes, unfortunately, they’re mean to their friends, too.