This past weekend was supposed to be spent with nine of my best friends in Myrtle Beach for my friend’s bachelorette; however, there were so many disagreements with the planning that it stressed the bride out and she ended up cancelling it altogether. So instead, we spent it in downtown Atlanta and I realized once again that it is who you are with, not what you do, that matters most. 

We started off at the Atlanta food festival with good food and great music, and I came across several of my friends from college and nursing school that I hadn’t seen in a long time! After waiting in line under the scorching sun for a couple of hours, we finally sat down to relax for a bit before heading to our hotel to freshen up for the rest of the day. We then went to the spa and got massages and pedicures; at this point I was ready to fall asleep! Afterwards, we went for dinner at Maggiano’s, where I had my favorite meal–steak and crispy red potatoes! We ended off the night walking around downtown and going to various bars, and met a lot of amazing and friendly people as we danced the night away! We woke up early the next morning to check out of our hotel, and headed off to brunch where we all spent hours talking and bonding, not wanting the wonderful weekend to end. 

Like many good things, there was a downside to this weekend as well: my friends were just not getting along! One of my friends told the bride she is unable to partake in her wedding dance due to her immense stage fright; she explained that although she wanted to dance in it so badly, she had reached the point where she just couldn’t do it, but she replaced herself with another one of our close friends who loves to dance. I could understand the bride being a bit upset at this cancellation only month before the wedding, but instead of talking to the girl about it, she talked to everyone else behind her back and gave her the silent treatment instead. I could also understand my friend’s feelings being hurt by the brides behavior, but instead of trying to understand the immense stress the bride was under, she got angry and began to plot revenge and considered ending the friendship forever. It was a tiny thing–a dancer replacement–and it could have been easily resolved by each person trying their best to confront each other face to face, resolve what could be resolved, and letting the little things go. Instead, there was a lot of stubbornness, anger, and pride getting in the way of a great friendship, and this issue has still not yet been resolved. I wish people could realize that problems happen to everyone, everywhere, and sometimes good people make bad decisions that can hurt others. But the only way to resolve conflict is with an open-mind and compassion, to understand the other person, to deal with it and let go of what you can’t control. Despite the drama this weekend, I had such a great time and can’t wait to do it again!