It's Always a Good Time

We don't even have to try
It's always a good time

Every time I hop on to their voice calls, these are the lyrics that pop into my head. In every single one of the nights I've played with them—despite the pain, struggle, annoyances I encounter—I've always had a good time.

But before I reveal the people I've been having fun with recently, let's rewind. Let's flip the calendar back to March 2018. That was the month I started my first job and it marked my entry into adulthood. Honestly, it was a huge milestone in my life as I had always wanted to work in a professional, office environment. Sadly, that was also the month where I thought, "This is it. I'm officially an office worker and an adult. I can leave my past, especially my HS life, behind."

Leaving a lot of things behind so suddenly did not bode well for my mental wellbeing.

Just having coworkers as my circle of friends wasn't that great and I found it extremely difficult to not have friends from other circles to talk to. I did try, however, to still be in my old friend groups. A group from high school is what I'll be talking about today.

That friend group regularly hung out for birthdays, events, and whatnot. I tried my best to attend every party. Every time that I joined in, however, I always felt like I was the odd man out. It was mostly because I was often the "older" guy (because I didn't go through senior high) and the only working individual/employee in their group. Also because when they randomly hang out at my former college, I couldn't attend them. I couldn't join them through their years in senior high and early college because I was busy working.

While they were trying to go through their modules, respective courses, and so on; I was busy working my 9-5 job, budgeting my salary, and learning how coworkers are different from classmates. It really felt like my friend group and I are so far apart, even though their grade level was only 1 year lower in high school, our immediate lower batch.

From a bird's-eye view, you could see that they were pretty far. Not just miles away, but rather, worlds apart. And I, on the other side, desperately trying to bridge the gap.

Suffice to say, I tried and was somewhat successful. I enjoyed their memorable parties, went swimming with them several times, was usually the one who bought pizza (because I was the only one who had a salary), and so much more. I had fun with them regardless and yet, something still felt off. It felt like a gap was still there.

2 years have passed since 2018. I've grown up a lot ever since my first foray into the working world and my friends, too, have grown accustomed to life at my former college. The gap between us has shrunk a bit, sure, but something happened this year that almost closed it entirely.

While 2020 proved to be a difficult time for me in terms of friendship, I was able to hop on to my old friend group's Discord server one day and, like they say, it all began (once again) from there.

Honestly, I can't describe how nice it feels to have my friends from high school talk to me again on an almost daily basis. For me, it feels fulfilling and it makes me feel a lot less alone. I'm also playing games with them, too, and we're still playing a classic game we've played since high school—Minecraft.

I've also tried to set up a Discord server for my own batchmates and became closer friends with them as well.

I'm pretty happy right now in terms of my friends. After losing 3 good friends that I regularly talk to, having the support of my old bros and buddies from high school is what I really needed. Though the gap between my friend group and I is still there, I think it's small enough for me to cross over and to reunite my world to theirs once again.

Since Christmas is near and the season of giving is here, I'm personally tempted to give them gifts and such. I'll try not to give out too much, but I'll at least think of something as a way to thank all of them (including my batchmates) for stringing me along in their games and fun adventures.

They've all made my time in quarantine a good time.