Archive for April, 2007

• 4.28.07 "The Person and the Experience" is posted in Friendship, Reflections

Last night I hosted another dinner party (pics), and I think a good time was had by all. But it has me thinking about the reason why I host parties sometimes versus why I spend time with friends 1-on-1…and the difference between enjoying a person versus enjoying an experience.

Jared part 1: I prefer to get together with people 1-on-1, and most of my plans are coordinated as such.
Jared part 2: I love making my friends happy (i.e., entertaining, sending a random present or a card, etc).

Now don’t get me wrong, part 1 & part 2 don’t have to conflict because I don’t mind being around a bunch of people, especially when they’re all my friends. But I think part 1 stems from enjoying the person–who my friend is, what they believe in, the history of our friendship, etc. And part 2 as relates to entertaining a group is twofold. On the one hand, I get the benefit of seeing a lot of people enjoying themselves. On the other, most of the good time is because of the group experience and less about the individual people. There’s nothing wrong with an experience, but while the sum of the whole may be greater than its parts, it becomes a very different being in the process. (more…)