Sisterhood At It's Finest

In a town like Washington DC, many women, particularly African American women, complain about the lack of female friendships available to them. It seems like everyone here is about their own agenda and could careless about embracing new people in their life. That is, of course, unless it can benefit them in some way (i.e. networking). That has caused me to take a step back from the social scene, and just enjoy the few friendships that I have. When I moved back here from college, it was hard and frustrated. I found that women here balk at the idea of meeting another female that is on their level or higher because surely she wants something from her, so she must stand on guard. Crazy right? Well at least it sounds crazy to me.

It was then that I found a group of sistas online that lived in DC, and just enjoyed chatting with each other all day about any and everything, and getting together from time to time to get to know each other in "real" life. It is through this group, in fact, that I met my bestie! I love these group of girls with all my heart. The truth they give to us, always, ALWAYS giving it to us straight, the laughs, crying together...priceless.

One thing the ladies in this group of 1500 women have in common is that we all love to read. A young lady in the group was reading The Host by Stephanie Meyer and asked if someone could read it with her. Of course several of us said ok, and it turned into a meetup. We met on Sunday at Busboys and Poets to eat, drink, and discuss the book. For those that don't know, Busboys and Poets is a bookstore and restaurant in one. There are dining tables, lounge couches, and books all in the same areas. It is one of the most unique spaces I've found in DC, and I love to take family and friends there when they are in town, but I digress :~)

When I walked through the door I could feel the positive energy. There were several women there that I knew, but a few that I didn't. It was such a joy to sit there with these welcoming smiling faces. No arguing, no giving each other the side eye, no hostility what-so-ever. Just women who were interested in getting to know each other, and wanting to discuss this book (which turned out to be a good read by the way, after the slow start). I took a moment to sit back and just look at us. This was definitely sisterhood at it's finest. We all sat there together, in agreement, with love. It was an awesome experience. So much so that it opened me up a little more to being more friendly to women I don't know who have the potential to become a friend. I must admit, my experience when I first moved back home to DC scarred me from being open to friendships here, but through this group of women, I see a glimmer of hope.

If you have a tight group of sisterfriends, hold them close to your heart, and thank God for them. Sisterhood is really a treasure worth finding.

~HG