Boys

These boys just seem to have a lot of fun...
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A girl's perspective.

Crazy. Funny. Annoying. Kinda cute/hot at times. Naughty. Playful. Smart in unusual areas. Cool-headed. Thoughtful. Generally enjoyable.

There are many kinds of'em - but one thing's for sure, I can say - befriending boys bring different sorts of color and experiences to my life, and I thank God for my guy friends (as well as my girl friends) in enriching my life as it is right now.

Not until fairly recently (read: a year ago), boys to me were like these alien beings that existed around me but that I had nothing to do with. There were an awful lot of nice dudes around me that I could have got to know (as friends I mean...not everything between girls and guys have to be romantic, you know) all that time, but I was too shy and too ignorant to talk much to the guys around me. To be honest, even making and keeping girl friends was hard for me with my 'excellent' social skills - what more about guys?

Okay...what is so alien about guys, anyway? (These ones look hot. :D)
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I did, however, have 2 amateur crushes then; this was because these guys said hi occasionally to me and were basically gentlemen who were, at the standards of the day, kinda hot. However, I didn't attempt to talk more to them or get to know better simply because I didn't really think, at that time, that guys can make pretty good friends. I closed-mindedly only thought about guys as girls' romantic interests.

The reasons why guys were so alien back then? Well, I guess it was mostly shyness. Besides, my family members were mostly girls and I wasn't Daddy's little girl either (don't be mistaken here - I do love my Dad but I wasn't like his 'buddy' or something whenever we talk) so I wasn't 'forced' into talking to boys much. I had no idea what good friendships with guys bring.

Fast forward a year.

I have to admit that I still am not the kind of girl that will just walk up to guys and say 'hey what's up' or make plans with guy friends to go places. That is a long way to go for someone who, like I said in a previous paragraph, didn't even care about talking to boys. However, I'm glad that it started with my classmates now - many of them actually took the initiative to get to know me - that I started to open up to the idea of having guys as friends. I'm not sure if they know that I have never even opened my mouth to talk much to guys before, but they accommodated me somehow and I gradually opened up to them, even though I acknowledge that it's still very little progress before I get 100% natural with guys just like my girl friends. Of course I am also mindful of proper boy-girl boundaries in friendships. In my book it's learn to make friends with guys first before even thinking about the romantic aspects, much later.

After that, starting to get to know other guys in school and outside (in church and in other social circles, also including ex-school friends) became slightly easier. In those areas I admit I still need a lot of work though, especially in terms of taking initiative to talk to them.

My guy friends even have started to tease me now, which can be pretty annoying, but deep down I actually like this progress - it shows that they are not "afraid" of me. People used to do that all the time because they were afraid that I'd cry or get emotional, so I basically had "Fragile: Handle with Extreme Care" signs written all over me, but at the same time, this distance made closer friendships almost impossible - many people dared not to reach out or talk much to me (I don't blame them, I gave people that impression in the first place) and I felt lonely.

After some time of getting used to the idea of guys being my friends, I am still learning a lot in the process. Guys are a lot of fun to be with, and I find their perspectives on things unique. Generally I like how guys can see the whole picture, their ability to make people laugh easily, them being willing to look silly for your entertainment, their ability to mix well with people without too many if's and have a 'I don't care what people think about me' attitude in many aspects . (How often do you see guys in general form cliques, or are obsessed with how they look the way we girls are at times). Some girls sometimes tend to have certain conditions for making friends - guys just make friends, and I didn't have to be rich or popular or extremely pretty to be accepted as their friends, just be willing to get to know them and that's all...

Guys tend to see the bigger picture. Girls? We look for details I guess...
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My hopes are that I completely get rid of all traces of awkwardness when talking to guys, and doing more activities and having more conversations with guy friends (together with the girls  I mean...the more the merrier) to get to know life from a guy's point of view.

Yup, thanks for being so entertaining...
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For bringing a lot of fun and cheer into my life, guys, thank you. :)

Yay for friends!
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Images taken from: (1), (2), (3), (4), (5)