The End of a Chapter titled : The Tripod

Starting university is very much a daunting prospect, especially for a guy who has been out of education for the last four years of his rambling, know-nothing life. Its about finding focus and direction and preparing to become 'an expert' in your chosen field of study. It is about starting a new chapter in your life, and finding the means in which to carry on. Along the way you make new friends and forge new relationships amongst your fellow students, but it can never erase the memories of the friends you left behind.

I remember a very special group of people I knew. They were all different, all talented in their individual ways, each with a quirky humour that made them likeable to each other and a keen intelligence that gave them vast adaptability within social networks and circles. Together we seemed to live in a bubble for a temporary time, like the kids in "Stand By Me," we all had our own demons, our own dreams and our own flaws, but when we were together for a while it felt like nothing could hold us back. The warmth of our circle attracted others who saw, who could feel, the bond that had birthed between us. We began as a two, then grew to a three, but it was only when we drew a fourth member it felt complete.

I think of these friends often, where they are in their lives now, who they were when I first met them, their moments of doubt, their moments of pain, especially the times when I was not there for them. Friendship is not about what you owe to one another, it is about what you give, no strings attached. If I could go back and be there in their times of need and hurt I wouldn't even hesitate because they were there for me. Today, there are moments when I feel lost without their advice. Lost without their support. Lost without their camaraderie. Through all our petty squabbling that went on over the years, the moments we all thought, "Man, we will never come back from this," and all the heated, embittered animosities bred of our own weaknesses and jealousies, all of that bad shit just mended itself, you know? I remember so much the laughter. Sometimes the laughing would just overwhelm every conversation we would have. Like it was healing old wounds, like it regenerated that friendship time after time. Even when in the times gone by we would sometimes feel like strangers after not having seen each other for a while, give us ten minutes and we would remember why we considered ourselves good friends.

In 2006, to me, it felt like one of the greatest years of my life. These guys were the glue that held me together through some dark times in my life, although they never really knew it, and all the laughter and jokes, and all the conversations that lasted until sunrise made me feel like I belonged to something very rare, and very special. It was the time of my life when everything seemed to boil down to friendship, even though we had known each other for years, that year we just clicked. We were there for each other, sometimes when no one else was there for us. We could be geeks and freaks and never have to apologise for it. We could be rude and obnoxious and always be forgiven. We could talk expressively about our weakest moments and our deepest dreams and never be laughed at.

Yes, the friends you make in university are supposed to be the ones that last your whole life, but the friends that I made, the friends that I will always remember were the ones who were there to make life easier when it got hard, and while everything else in the world seemed to be going to shit, just a phone call away were the people who mattered most. They were my friends. The greatest I have ever had, and I only realise looking back in retrospect. Our paths will split, and we will move on in our lives, but I know those guys will always have the warmest place in my heart, and the most thoughtful place in my memories. They saved my life in every possible way over the years, and I owe them a great deal of the strength I have obtained over that time.

University is a new chapter, but I will never close the book on the previous one. Here's to George, Yoni and Trishul, the TRIPOD that held me up.