Storming Normalcy: The Power of Friendship
Marcus “MWIL” Wilson
There is a constant and aggressive force that tries to keep us at bay, while we run this race of life. For some, it is a pestering nuisance. For others, it is an agonizing and crippling handicap. Most adults combat against this force by building up our own private armies. This isn’t a literal militia storming the coast of the nearest country, but a strong group of tightly knit individuals. We usually call this group our “Friends”. Friendships are incredibly important to our development as people and are crucial to the human psyche.
Good friends can motivate us to heights beyond our wildest dreams simply by believing in us and supporting our efforts. Friendships can be challenging, inspiring, and amazing, but can also be demanding, taxing and downright annoying. I think it’s the ups, downs, tension, and friction that create the strongest of bonds. We may not notice it at times, but we go to great lengths to have this companionship. We end up in some of the craziest situations to either obtain or keep our friends and if that fails, we make up our own imaginary friends. We need friendships to help us win the battles we have with the world and even within ourselves on the day to day. Even the most abstract of individuals can have a major impact on our lives and can be the greatest of friends.
If we peek into the film “Gerald’s Hands” we can see that this is a prime example of an individual who has already been deemed disabled, attempting to find a normalcy that a lot of us take for granted. He finds these friendships in very creative spaces to say the least, but these are the lengths taken to obtain and maintain the friendships that give Gerald the feeling of normal that we all desire, to keep us from going mad.
With the right group of friends, we have the power to conquer any and everything we set our minds to. I am certain we can all attest to the difference between tackling an issue alone and taking on that same issue with the force of our own personal army behind us. Friends provide the confidence we need to fight our lonely debilitating pressures and give us timeless memories that can be cherished for a lifetime.
A lot can be said about friends but the one thing I will say is… that force trying to hold you back will be challenging at times, but it will never be stronger than the army charging forward with you.
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