During the dinner party last night, Jenny brought up the fact that we tend to become friends with people who have traits we wish we could possess. This came up primarily as related to the fact that so many of my friends from home are rather petite, versus my tall, ogre-like self. So naturally the next couple of points I came up with regarding my friends from home is that most of them are:

-smart (I just don't handle stupid)
-down-to-earth
-laid-back/low drama types
-generous

In addition, Bryce, Kelly, and April all have amazing style. Now, while the list above encompasses most of things I've tried to be in my life, I'd say that the petite comment, and the amazing style are the aspects of which I'm more likely to be jealous. It's funny that some of the more superficial qualities I love about my friends are of the variety to make me feel terrible about myself. Of course, now that I'm not with them constantly I don't necessary feel any better about myself, but I do worry less about my size, and feel quite a bit more put together in comparison to the people I meet. Still, I think I'd rather have them around than feel good about my appearance.

The next point this brought up in my head is how I would go about categorizing my friends here in DC. I think that it'll take a couple of years to truly identify a pattern among the people I'm getting to know here. Of course, in all cases, circumstance has quite a bit to do with who you know. Looking at the current state of my friends here though, they're naturally all incredibly smart and motivated. I generally feel stupid and lazy in comparison, which anyone who knows me from home will not believe. Without committing the faux pas of actually describing each of my friends in detail, I've noticed a lot of insecurity among my female friends, as well as a reluctance to just relax and let go. Overall, none of them realize just how amazing they are as human beings. I believe that I made a similar comment about my girls in California as well, so this is likely more the plight of twenty something women than anything else. My male friends here have been a bit...different, but that's both good and bad. Maybe I'll discuss it later.

Alright, I know that it's going to take some time to really build a thorough life here, though I think I've made a good start with some wonderful people. For the most part I'm interested to see how life will develop with the people I currently know, and what kind of patterns I'll notice among them. I'm also excited to who else I'll get to meet...