Little Girl Blue...

Have you ever come to a point where you realized that you might be friends with someone you don't want to be?

Or maybe, it's not that you don't want them as a friend, but that you feel you no longer really know each other, and their perception of you is skewed?

I think we've all had friends make us feel like shit from time to time. But knowing that person so well, and them knowing you, you somehow get through it, chalking it up to that just being the person they are (and you are), and loving them for it anyway.

If it's not that kind of friendship...how do you either 1) get out of it, or b) change it?

-What if you know that person for so long, more than half your life?
-What if you think about why you are friends now, and it has more to do with a shared past and geographic proximity?
-What if being around them, you find that you act in a way that is not who you really are (out of discomfort and nerves), perpetuating the reasons for their own negative feelings towards you?
-What if you don't know how to stop yourself from acting that way?
-Is the only way out to cut them out?
-What if you think they are very judgmental, and you are scared to tell them how you feel for fear of even more ridicule.

Do you tell them anyway?

Missed Connection(s) @ Crafty Bastards with...

Amazing break-dancers busting a move Sunday at the DC Hip-Hop break-dancing championship. Who knew DC was so fly?

Seriously though, I have never witnessed such a contagious cultural phenomenon as what was going on in the school yard at Marie Reed Elementary School on Sunday. We (anne & I) went down 18th street looking for good jewelry and maybe a few gifts...3 hours later, I was "oh no"ing and bopping my head to the beats while watching some of the most talented and eclectc people show their stuff at the hip-hop festivals break dancing competetion.

And yes, we were totally out of our league- the two little white girls psyched for a sunny day and crafts venturing into the domain of city hip hop culture, but honestly...I have never seen a more diverse and engaged crowd at any event (be it protest, street fair, bar, whatever) than the mass of people (we're talking thousands) surrounding the make-shift stage to watch these kids get down.

...and when I say get down, I mean it in a very literal sense. As the Emcee pointed out to us, they were literally "tearing up their flesh to show you what's up." This was the concrete schoolyard Jurassic 5 sang about...and it was incredible to watch. Each pair of dancers squared off against another pair in a 4 minute battle that was as friendly as it was fresh. Listen to me, after a day of watching break-dancing I'm peppering my entries with words like "fresh" and "fly.." who knew I was signing up for a lesson on street cred?!

All I know is...I want to put on my white flat brimmed hat, throw on some camo shorts (ok, so i'll have to go buy something camo, but I do have a pretty cool hat) and take to the streets to learn how its done...or at least find out where these kids hang out on a daily basis. I'm obsessed. I want a hip hop boyfriend, and I want one now. I want to be best friends with the little asian guy in the "I'm a keeper" t-shirt who was more fly than a fly-girl. I want to kick-it with the girls up there spinning on their heads and making elbow pads look hot...but most of all, I want a really rad pair of sneakers.