Jan 8, 2011

Look Bek, this one has you in it!

“It’s never the differences between people that surprise us. It’s the things that, against all odds, we have in common.”
That is one of my favourite Jodi Picoult quotes. Everyone is different in so many ways it is just plain incredible that we can possibly have anything in common with each other.

How is it that there are different musicians loved by the thousands world wide? How can a single book sell copies to a million different people? How can a television series be adored by a good portion of the population?
Every single one of us is unique, and yet we can like the same things and have the same interests as other people. The chances of agreeing on absolutely every single subject are slim though. While I have friends that have a lot in common with me, there will be differences.

For instance, my friend Bek and I love almost all the same kinds of music. We used to have very different playlists but as the years have gone on, and our file sharing has frequented, our playlists have almost merged into two indistinguishable clouds of rhythm and melody. I am pretty sure she still has way more music than I do (disadvantage of not owning an iPod. Discman for the win) but we still rarely listen to the other's music without saying at least once “I love this song!”
Bek and I may have music interests that appear to have been separated at birth, but if our music interests were twins they would be fraternal twins. By which I mean they are not identical. There is still the issue of Duffy.
Bek very much likes the Welsh musician, while I find her voice annoying. It doesn’t matter that we have this difference in opinion, I’m sure it isn’t the only one music wise, even though I did get over my brief Taylor Swift phase. And we certainly have differences in opinion in other situations.

The point is, while we don’t both love Duffy and I don’t usually play Lady Gaga willingly while she absolutely does, we both love Paramore and have spent many a sleep over rocking out to Fall Out Boy.
It isn’t odd that we have tastes that differ, what is odd is that we have so many that don’t. We don’t just share the same favourite music, but books too, and the same love for simple things like popping bubble wrap. It isn’t the things we disagree on that make us friends. We don’t bond over my contempt for Lady Gaga, nor do we converse often about Bek’s lack of enthusiasm for the works of Derek Landy. We talk about Paramore and Harry Potter because those are among the things we have in common.

Because it isn’t amazing that I’m more into crime mystery stories than she is. It isn’t wondrous that she really likes wasabi and I can’t handle the stuff. It is hardly even note worthy that she can walk in heels with grace as I stumble and trip.
But it is amazing that we both say “That is so awesome!” when seeing a book called ‘Zombies VS Unicorns’. It is a wonder how the two of us, in the clutter of people on this planet, can meet and have a great time eating garlic bread. And it truly is amazing that, despite every difference between us, when we saw nuns out side Paddy’s Market in Sydney the first thing we both thought was “Take a picture”.
Because, despite our differences Bek Day, you and I have an awful lot in common.

2 comments:

  1. I search everywhere for a friend like that. I am so thankful you found yours. Someone who you know will accept your idea of going bungee jumping or sky diving or "let's walk to New York" and not say that they're stupid or impossible; even if they are. xD Someone who says "can we bring nutella on the way there?" Dude, that stuff has been addicting lately... I find myself reserving a spoon in my room just for it xD

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  2. This has been great to read. Both in the writing sense and the content. Bring Nutella on the way there.

    and FTR, I would totally back you up on the nun-taking photo.

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