Girlfriends

Throughout my life I haven't had much luck with being part of big groups of girls. It started in fifth grade when I hung out with about seven other girls in my class. I had a lot of fun with these friends until the end of the year when one of my friends decided she didn't like me anymore. Because this girl happened to be the the "ringleader" of the group, everyone else followed her, and I was left completely friendless. They even prank called me and tried to send pizzas to my house all summer long. It was the end of the year and it was fifth grade and most of them were not going to my sixth grade center, so I tried to be optimistic that I would make some new friends the next year, but it was really hard.

Then in eighth grade I became part of another big group of girlfriends. This time there were about eleven of us. I also had a lot of fun with these girls, until we all started to find out what each of us were saying behind eachothers backs. I contributed to the gossip not ever dreaming that any of what I said would get back to the people I was gossipping about. It hurt to find out what my friends said about me, but it hurt even worse to find out that my friends knew what I said about them. By the end of the year we were all split into groups of two or three, and I really felt like I had enemies for the first time. It was then that I tried to avoid groups of girls altogether.

Sometimes this was unavoidable. I was a cheerleader in high school. There's a big group of girls for you. Even when there were just five of us my freshman year, we were split two against three. When we numbered fifteen, it was drama every day and over everything. Then I worked at Hot Dog on a Stick during the summers when I was home from college. It's mostly girls that want to work at Hot Dog on a Stick, so I became part of another big group of girls. I have to admit that with the cheerleaders I did contribute to the drama, but when I worked at Hot Dog on a Stick I made a conscious effort to not be involved in it. And I still got sucked in. The second summer I was home, I found out that the mall I worked at the previous summer was fully staffed, so instead of going back to see if they could squeeze me in, I went to another store where I knew the manager and knew help was needed, and I asked to work there instead. One day I was working with my friend Laurie, and she says, "What happened with you and Brittany?" And I said, "Nothing, why?" And she said, "You don't work at the Galleria anymore. Everyone thinks it's because you had a fight with Brittany." All I could think was ,"Argh! Stupid girls!" I had done everything I could to stay out of the drama, and it was created for me anyway.

So you can imagine my anxiety when our ward split, and there were about thirty or forty girls all around my age, instead of about 200 as it was before. We would all see each other every week and at the activites, and with the smaller number we would all have to eventually interact with eachother. We became a big group of girls, and I was nervous about what would happen next. But I have to say I have been pleasantly surprised by ALL of the girls in my ward, and I do mean ALL. I have seen almost no drama (I say almost because you're still going to get a little drama with girls) even though this group of girls is three or four times the size of the previous groups of girls I belonged to. When we all get together, we are just like a bunch of sisters who let loose and have a good time and accept eachother the way we are.

Last week Rushelle and I decided to go to dinner. We found out there were a few other girls interested in going to this particular place, so I decided I would call the other girls in the ward to see if they would like to go to. (If you are reading this and thinking, "I didn't get a call," I promise I called you. There were three or four girls whose lines were busy, and I tried a few times, or their numbers on the ward list were not the right numbers. And I didn't call Kate, Ashley, Lynda or Kelly because Rachel S. told me she talked to them.)

About seven of us went. This is Janet, Wendy, Rushelle, me, Khali, Rachel, and Jane. We had a great time. I think we stayed for almost four hours! The singing and dancing waiters weren't like I remembered, but we did happen to get the waitress who had the best voice in the whole diner. She sang this incredible version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Every other girl in the ward I talked to or left a message for about the dinner either called me back or talked to me at church letting me know they were sorry they missed it, but to let them know when we would go again. They all seemed genuinely appreciative for the invitation. These girls are great!

I'm glad to know that big groups of girls can get along, and I'm happy to be part of an amazing group of girls. The girls in my ward really are the cream of the crop. I love you guys!