Let’s Be Friends
My creative friend, Joe Murphy, and me in Ireland in 2024.
When we’re little, friendship is simple.
You see another kid, you feel that flicker of interest, and you ask:
“Hey! Want to be my friend?”
Usually, the answer is yes — whether it’s for the next hour on the playground or for the next twenty years.
Friendship Gets More Complicated as We Get Older
As adults, the process is messier.
We don’t just have “friends” anymore — we have categories:
Family — Either chosen or assigned
Social groups — the ones we see at work, at church, at the gym, in the neighborhood
“Real” friends — the people we plan trips with, bring soup to, and call first when something big happens
These people are our scaffolding: they hold up the structure of our days.
The Overlooked Kind of Friendship
But there’s another kind of friend that often gets overlooked: creative friends.
They might not live next door, or even in the same zip code. You might not know their kids’ middle names. But they feed your creative energy in a way no one else can.
A creative friend is the person you can send a half-finished, messy thing to and say:
“This is nothing yet, but what do you think?”
They’re the ones who make you brave enough to try the thing you’ve been circling for months. The ones who keep you going when you’ve hit the wall.
Don’t Wait for the Universe
The problem is, most of us aren’t actively looking for creative friends.
We hope the universe will just drop one into our lives, the way it did when we were ten and sitting cross-legged on the blacktop.
Sometimes it does.
Most of the time, it doesn’t.
Research shows that people who believe making friends takes active effort are actually more successful at it.
And here’s the other research-backed secret: assume people like you. Walk in believing they’re already happy to see you — because odds are, they will be. When you start with that mindset, you naturally show more warmth, and they respond in kind.
Why Tiny Stories Starts in Community
Your Tiny Stories group might be family.
It might be a group of your coworkers.
Or it might be a table full of strangers who all signed up for an adventurous retreat because something about it tugged at them in the same way.
It doesn’t matter where you start.
What matters is that you start together.
Because when you write in community, you do more than put words on a page.
You validate the human condition. You say, “I see you.”
And art, always, says, “You’re not alone.”
That’s the heartbeat of Tiny Stories.
The writing gets us in the room.
The shared experience keeps us there.
And here’s the magic part: by the time you leave, you’ll have shared experiences that nobody else has — moments that live only in the memories (and stories!) of the people who were in that room with you.
Shower the People You Love with Love
People want to feel liked.
Tell them. Show them. Compliment them. Share when something they said resonates.
It’s not “too much.” It’s human connection. And right now, I think all of us could use a little more vulnerable, honest, authentic human connection.
Maybe the grown-up version of “Hey! Want to be my friend?” is simply showing up, sitting down, and making something together.
Saying “Yes!” to an experience where everyone is there to be kind, to connect, and to grow? That’s the recipe for deep, soulful connections that will stick with you, long after the ink dries.
How’d you meet?
Do you have a story about how you met one of your best friends, creative or otherwise? Share it in the comments or send me a note. I’d love to hear it. <3
