...Like Knives

I got a call this evening from the company where one of my high schoool friends works, selling knife sets. The woman mentioned that my friend had told her a bit about me, and she wanted to know if I would be interested in interviewing for a position with them. It was rather out of the blue. I'm not planning on calling her back, though, because I already have a job!

It starts in 2 days. I'm nervous but also excited, mostly about meeting my coworkers and getting to know them. It's a camp counsellor-esque position, which means that my fellow monitors & I will be spending a lot of time together and teamwork is emphasized. My friend/future roommate Rebelle & I have talked about how both of us would like to make more friends, since neither of us made that many this past school year. Seems like this could be an excellent opportunity!

I've been doing some thinking about friendship, and how I don't really understand its intricacies. But what I have figured out is this: friends are like knives. While it is true that some of my friends are sharp-witted, I am not in fact referring to the stabbing, cutting, damaging abilities of knives (because I don't find those qualities particularly attractive in humans, thank you very much).

We could talk about how each knife is unique (bread knife, paring knife, carving knife), much like how we meet friends in a number of places and how each of our friends has a different personality from the rest. We could also talk about how the same knife set can work wonders for one master chef yet not be the right fit for another.

But, I feel the most important part of the analogy is this: a sharp knife gets things done. Knives that are properly cleaned, sharpened, and maintained are infinitely more effective than blunt, rusty ones. Similarly, friendships must be maintained. It's a bit more difficult to sharpen a friendship than it is to sharpen a knife, but it must be done. In the words of the wise Gordon Ramsay, "It is so dangerous working in the kitchen with a blunt knife." Now, it may not necessarily be dangerous to live life with poorly-maintained friendships, but it sure ain't good for your mental health and general well-being.

So welcome the kitchen of life, baby. What's cooking?