Will you be my friend?

So when I moved to Boston I knew that I would have to work at making friends. After all, it's not easy when you move to a place where you know no one. Below you will find an example of every conversation I have had with someone new:

New person: I'm (insert new person's name here)
Me: Nice to meet you. I'm Kristin. I just moved to Boston.
New person: Wow, that's exciting. What made you move to Boston? A new job?
Me: No, I just decided I wanted to move to Boston. So I did.
New person: Do you know someone here?
Me: Not one person. I literally just picked up and moved. So, I'm looking to meet people - quickly. Um, would you like to be my friend?

Okay, so the conversation isn't EXACTLY like that, but it's close. I know most people have a hard time meeting new people, and especially asking new people for anything. I have come to realize that if I'm going to make any real friends, I have to throw those fears and beliefs out the window. Basically, I have to beg. When you find yourself alone and scared, you become desperate. And, even though I have yet to find myself in that place just yet, I don't want to get there. It's like I'm a squirrel preparing for a long winter. I want to make sure I have plenty of acorns shoved in my mouth in case the season lasts a little longer than expected. (For those who did not understand that analogy, I want to meet as many people as I can as soon as I can, just in case things get a little tougher down the road, and I find myself alone and wanting to grab a drink or something).

To do this, I find myself going on what I refer to as "friend dates." These are the "having coffee with a friend of a friend" type of meeting. And, these are funny things. In my opinion, these types of meetings are even more nerve-racking than a real date. What am I going to wear? I don't want them to think I'm trying too hard for our first meeting. Will they think I'm a little bit desperate because I have to meet people like this? What if I say something wrong? Will they never call/text again? Should I swear the first time we meet? Or save that til later? You see, there's more at risk here than on a date. On a date, if you blow it, you're losing one potential person who would probably just end up being an idiot anyways. Sorry - I'm jaded, remember? Anyways, with a friend date, if you blow it, you're ruining your chances for meeting the friends of a friend of a friend. Get it? With one friend date, you could be filling your social calendar for at least 6 months. Blow it and you're back to the beginning. Nerve-racking. I told you.

What brings about this fascinating post you ask? I had a friend date this weekend. We met for coffee at JP Licks, the local ice cream shop by my place. Turns out she's a fellow JP'er. She's a friend of a friend who graduated law school and found herself back in Boston. Her year (literally, on January 1st) began with the termination of a 6 1/2-year relationship. Needless to say, she's found herself in a bit of a transition. A transition, you say? I might know something about that....

We hit it off right away. She's awesome. And not in the Croatian-boy type of awesome. I mean really awesome. Wicked cool, if you will. As we're saying our good-byes, she says to me: "I am so glad you moved to Boston. Will you be my friend?" We both laughed, as the tension finally eased. We both passed the test. There will be friendship. I can see my calendar filling up with coffees, parties, bar outings...

We hugged, she gave me directions, and walked away. And, I thought "this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship"...thank God I chose to wear the pink shirt. I think the outcome would have been very different had I worn the green.