All My Friends

“You spent the first five years trying to get with the plan
And the next five years trying to be with your friends again.”

Sometimes I will just be listening to music mindlessly, and all of a sudden a song will come on that I know has some sort of epic meaning for my life. It’s usually just a random line from the song, or the feel I get from a song. The other night, I was listening to my iTunes on shuffle, and this new song, LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends,” came up. At first, I didn’t really think much of it, but the above lyrics caught my attention and I ended up listening to it a couple more times. The rest of the song is about a similar theme to the quoted lyrics, about the uncertainty of life and the certainty of friends.

I suppose I am in the first five years of trying to figure out my life and where it is headed. The song definitely reminds me of the importance of keeping in touch with old friends, even when I start to get busy, and to appreciate the importance of making small gestures. I always try to keep my friends close to my heart, and have pictures of them all around me at home and work to remind me of them. Although I try to avoid living in the past too much, it is always heartwarming to think of old memories.

I remember back in middle school Health class, we did this auction exercise, in which we were given a list of life priorities. They ranged from get rich, have a great family, to excel at job. We were able to auction off a set of points to “win” a priority in life. I think the goal of the exercise was to end up with a set of priorities you were happy with. I ended up putting all of my points towards keeping good friends all throughout life. This might be my only significant memory from middle school. Anyways, I will end with more lyrics from “All My Friends.”

“Where are your friends tonight?”

from ken

Are you trying to change your life? I'd love to hear about it! ken.e.noguchi@gmail.com