PierceFest || On Friendships

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This month, I'm pleased to get the opportunity to spotlight three interconnected Tamora Pierce's series: Circle of Magic, The Circle Opens and Circle Reforged. This series is set in the world of Emelan, which is similar to but also different from the world of Tortall where Song of the Lioness and The Immortals is mostly set. It also features four very unique (and young) main characters: Sandry, Tris, Daja and Briar. I really enjoy the series, as it combines some of my favorite elements - friendship, magic and adventure, all with a dash of humor. 

I've talked more about the series in my kick-off post, and reviewed the first quartet (Circle of Magic) yesterday. Today, I wanted to write about something I got to thinking about when I finished Briar's Book last week: friendship.

Friendship is one of the strongest elements of this series, and it's even what the "Circle" in the series name refers to. While these four are completely unique individuals from different walks of life, they still manage to find common ground (their unusual magic) and form a tentative connection (both figuratively, and literally when Sandry weaves their magic together). 

What really bonds them for life, however, is being forced to face difficult situations - like terrifying earthquakes, random pirate attacks, the powerful forces of nature and magical diseases. It got me thinking about my own friendships. Because of the things (good and bad) we've shared, my friends and I are pretty much strongly bonded together  for life.

For instance, I have a group of girlfriends that I've known since high school - Bianca, Jaymee and Pam. We bonded dramatically because of the random high school re-sectioning (explanation: We have three or four different classes in school, ranked based on academic excellence. In our sophomore year, we were re-sectioned into randomly decided sections without the rankings.), which also threw us together. We've also been through major boyfriend drama, personal family disputes and even doing big things like moving to the US all within 3 months of each other (except for Bianca)!

There's also my college roommates - Bianca (same one as in high school), Rachel and Mutya. We've gone through dorm initiations, late nights up studying, terrifying oral exams, org projects, boyfriends and ex-boyfriends, nights of no sleep and homesickness and major illness. There's no end to the extent of crazy (awesome + awful) things we experienced in college together!

And then there's my best friend Pat, who I've known since elementary school. We've been through parental crises, and friendship wars, good boyfriends, bad boyfriends, moving to different places and so much more. We've also experience New York life together with Pam and Jaymee - homesickness, learning to balance budgets and clean house, playing tourist, apartment hunting and job searches.

Friendships only stand the test of time when faced with shared experiences good and bad. These things can make or break the connection you have with someone, as I know all too well. I'm very blessed to have had most of this craziness make my friendships stronger, just like what happened with Sandry, Tris, Daja and Briar.

YOUR TURN - What experiences bonded you and your friends for life? What experiences made former friendships fall apart? Share YOUR story in the comments!