People refer to “friends and family” as if they were things on the same level. From my experience, I think this wrong. Friends come and go, but your family will always be there. It’s true that a few good friends remain in your life, but even they won’t always be behind you like your family.

I only bring this up as I’ve been horribly sick the last two weeks with the flu. When I first came down with it, the only people to call me and check up on me were my parents. My parents left for China for two weeks to visit family last weekend. It’s a funny thing because my parents usually annoy me with the way they’re always checking up on me (especially my Mom), but this week with them overseas and not calling, I’ve sorely missed that. I do really love my parents. I wish I knew them better.

Sometimes I wish I had closer friends who … cared. I have close friends, but no one is there to make sure I’m ok every day. Perhaps one can find that with one's roommates. Unfortunately I don't have that now. I wish I did. That’s the reason why I envy close couples. Having a significant other, or just a partner, who cared, who could sense when things are wrong, would be nice.

From my college experience, I’ve found that friends are fleeting. Naturally time has distanced me from my freshman year roommates, who were good buddies of mine. In the first week of this semester, I found that an old friend had a going-away party in which I was not invited. I felt like we had a close relationship before, but I guess she has forgotten about me now. I feel like I’ve had a different set of “friends” every year in college. I wish there were some constant people in my life outside of my family. But I am happy that I have a family that cares about me so much. Just some thoughts…