Friday morning I was having a breakfast meeting with a friend of mine who is starting a non-profit with a few women I know. Her organization loves my writing style, and has decided to give me the gift of forming their communication initiatives. So over coffee and computers, we began to discuss our very business oriented agenda.

Somewhat unexpected to us, our business became pushed aside as two girls walked into the house (I’ve just recently moved, and I am currently living with a friend). Both girls were young, just barely in their twenties. One had a mostly shaved head, except for strategic patches of longer hair, making a perfectly good Mohawk. Her girlfriend had pink hair with neon yellow sections. One had a tattoo on her forearm, and both of them had facial piercings. They greeted us and asked for my host, saying that they’d made plans for breakfast.

This was the best interuption I have had all week.

Laptops were turned off and papers were pushed away as my house-host announces that she is making her “world famous” breakfast sandwiches – which so happen to be in “Top 5 Favorites” list. The girls plopped themselves down at the table and quickly began asking questions about the non-profit.

Both girls were hysterical, fast-talking, and acute in terms of what they like and what they don’t. We talked about puppy mills, non-profits, and Orange County. I was sad when breakfast was over and we had to say “goodbye” and return to our communications agenda.

I bring them up in my writing because our interaction Friday morning was a surprising indicator of how much I have changed in the last five years. Specifically, I remember being slightly homophobic in my early twenties. Not that I thought they were diseased or anything, just that at 18 I had never personally known a homosexual. Somehow growing up in the church sent me mixed signals concerning what to think, or how to interact with them. It made me think that they were lost, or were abused or something. That may or may not be the case for most practicing lesbians and gays, but it was an idea that I had a hard time shaking from my head.

I would say that these fantastic girls were lost in some ways. But, not because they are lesbians with an interesting outward appearance – but rather, simply because they are twenty. It through their fun conversation that I started thinking about where I was five years ago. I know I was lost, trying to find my place in the world, feeling out what I thought about abortion, drugs, sexuality and having gay friends. Not experimenting with any of these things, because I was too much of a “good child” to have that kind of freedom.

And in contrast, I love that these girls have the ability to be that free. Admittedly, they are angry at certain things. They like San Francisco because it is more accepting and they don’t get looked at funny by us “Church going people.” They like Marilyn Mansion and hate 40 year olds with puppies and boob jobs. Its clear that they are flushing out what they think about drugs, sexuality, culture, acceptance – much like I did at their age.

Anyway – I’m not trying to create something too deep and meaningful out of our coffee and egg sandwiches. I just realized that I  love knowing people that are very different than me. I think it helped me see that even if we are different, we can be very similar. I appreciate that they can struggle, and remind me that I struggle too. And while it never I never went through a facial piercing phase, I can empathize how hard twenty can be.

I like my new friends. I think I’ll keep them around.