.friends.

I'm really thankful for my friends. It's hard to move to a new city and find community. I don't have a ton of friends here yet, but I do have a few really great ones. I'm blessed.
But, I miss having guy friends.
At a certain point it seems that we've been trained to think "why bother?" when it comes to being friends with someone who might be a potential spouse. It's like we flirt, maybe go out once or twice, decide yes or no, and we're done with it (if it's a no).
But what if I'm chatting with you and want to get to know you because I think you're interesting, but I don't really want to date you? What if I actually want to be friends? But we don't really make time for that. And it makes me sad. I think we're all probably missing out on some beautiful friendships.
I don't want my life to be less full because I'm missing out on potential friendships. And, I want to be able to have a great conversation with someone without anyone questioning my motives or interpreting my friendliness as something more.
I guess I just don't want to put pressure on potential friendships that's completely unnecessary. I enjoy meeting new people and getting to know them, and it'd be nice to be able to do that without wondering "what if?"
Mostly, I guess I'd just like to build more of a community here. More well-rounded. People of different age groups and genders. I think we all have so much to offer each other, and maybe it's selfish of me, but I want to experience that. Actually, I don't think it's selfish. I think it's how we were created to be.
It just takes some risk; but what a beautiful risk it could be.