Growing up, I felt alone. I didn’t have much friends and wasn’t the most social of people. I preferred reading to social interactions and sitting and talking. This somehow changed when I started university and exceeded my expectations at socialization. Suddenly, I was constantly surrounded by people and I never wanted to be alone.
But as everyone going through this stage of their life knows, you don’t get to keep in touch with everyone you met in college. Someone who you had claimed to be your best friend only three years ago is suddenly a complete stranger. And sometimes a complete stranger or the person you despised becomes your best friend. Because that’s just the way things go and how growing up functions.
It took me quite some time to understand that it’s not in the number of friends you have but in the strong bonds and relationships you form. I admit to being sad that Ahmad’s invitee list was longer than mine because a part of me felt that I would be underrepresented. This wasn’t a competition, it just felt like given my history of being a loner, I didn’t want for it to manifest itself at my wedding.
It didn’t.
When I look at the pictures from the wedding, my most favorite ones involve my friends having the time of their lives. I realize from the time I asked them to be at the venue till they had to leave, they didn’t actually sit down and they did it with huge smiles on their faces. I mean, dealing with me is hard enough, dealing with me in “bride-mode” was probably the hardest thing they had to do. I can’t thank them enough for helping me get into my dress and lacing that thing up as tight as possible while still allowing me to breathe.
The picture above is perhaps one of my favorite ones because it truly shows what a diverse group they make up: my sister with whom I have shared everything, one of my oldest friends who is close to me she is practically a sister, my two college best friends with all the history we shared and the funny ways we came to be friends, the friend that I didn’t know up until a few months ago but it feels like we’ve known each other forever, and two of my dearest friends from graduate school who came to Lebanon especially to celebrate with us.
Anyone else would call it a mistake handing over their camera to their crazy friends but when I was going over the snaps, I couldn’t help but laugh my ass off when they decided to have their own photo shoot, or when the majority of their selfies involved duckfaces and sticking their tongues out. I only wish I could’ve joined in as I would’ve on any other occasion.
And the best part about going through such life-changing experiences together? You know you’re basically glued together from that point onward.
Beyond Beirut 