Why is this so hard?

"That's what she said." As much as I love "The Office", the best part about this joke isn't its evocation of Michael Scott, it's how it can suddenly send a docile conversation between friends into a bawdy frenzy of laughter that is often not unwelcome.

This rant is probably only going to be half as potent as it ought to be since I don't really have this problem, yet that in no way means that it isn't important. It's easy enough to say that saying "relationships are tough" is cliche; however, it's just as sophomoric to respond by saying "tough it out". Life isn't something that can be pegged so easily by quick, easy responses, and anyone who thinks it can has one eye open at best. To be clear, I don't intend to discuss romantic relationships but rather interpersonal relationships of any kind.

Let's start off by talking about how natural it is for people to want closeness with others (if only for the reason that it is). On my first day of kindergarten, I went up to another boy and asked him if he wanted to be best friends with me. He said yes, and we were best friends for the next nine years (we were never as close after high school separated us into different social circles, though we were always friends and still are). Even though it's impossible to be that blunt after those early days of elementary school, it's only natural for anyone to search out others to share life with. This is clearly much easier for people who have a support base well-established and near at hand, though it's easy to forget that not everyone has this luxury. I know that, last Summer, I was somewhat nervous about how I'd be spending my time outside of class since I was just starting at UCLA as most of my friends were graduating. Fortunately, a vacancy opened up at my friend Matt's apartment, and I jumped at the chance to live with a friend. I went from having a somewhat shaky support base to having a trusted friend at my place of residence, and I don't think I'll ever forget just how lucky I've been.

Another friend of mine hasn't been nearly as lucky with building relationships where he has none. He moved to Michigan in order to work (for a very appealing salary, mind you), but he's found it to be nearly impossible to establish a support base there (it's a company town and most of the employees have families already). Now he spends his money--the reason he moved out there--on weekend trips to visit his friends in other states. There's just no way any person can live well without a friend or two who can just be there.

We're all looking for kindred spirits to share bits of life with. Sometimes you'll get lucky and fall into a situation with like-minded people, sometimes you'll want to run home as quick as you can just to feel like you're among people you trust. Either way, relationships are easy to take for granted and frustrating to be without, and everyone needs at least a little help to ease the burden of being human beings.