My A-List

On Friday night, I was standing with three friends in one of the swankiest bars in Minneapolis.  We'd never been there before, but we'd heard good things and wanted to give it a try.  We were enjoying immaculately-made expensive drinks and having ridiculously great conversations.  It was a perfect night.

And then the A-Listers walked in. You know who I'm talking about. They're gorgeous, tall, extremely well-dressed... they have money, they have power, they have influence.  They don't WALK into a bar; they saunter in.  Heads turn.  Surely they are coming from an "event" of some sort, and likely are just passing through this bar for a drink, on their way to the next big thing.  They're people that my friends and I don't actually KNOW, but do know OF.

Which makes me think: I wonder if ANYONE really knows them.  We're judging them by their exterior.  We're assuming that because they LOOK and ACT completely put-together, they actually are.  If we really sat down and talked to them, we'd probably find that they have insecurities and struggles and who knows what else.  Maybe we'd have more in common than we think.  But maybe not.  And maybe it doesn't matter, because....

I have my own A-List: The people in my life who enhance every experience; who are the first ones on the invite list when I'm hosting a party. They're the people I can relate to, who understand the things I struggle with.  The people with whom I share inside jokes and who know that my favorite drink is Malibu diet.  People who can read between the lines when I'm having a hard time articulating my thoughts.  The people who bring out the best in me, and vice versa.  People who share similar interests and values, and who love to have fun.  People who I can text at a moment's notice and meet for a walk around the lake or a cup of coffee.   People who make me know that I am never alone.

My own A-Listers are a lot like me.  They're not fancy or powerful.  They have influence, but not in the same way as the "actual" A-Listers.  I don't even know if they "have money" or not, and I don't care.  They're as comfortable showing up in shorts and a t-shirt as they are in a bow-tie or a fancy dress.

I don't need or even want to be well-known, popular, or influential.  But I do need my people, my A-List.  And I'm thankful for the ever-expanding number of people on this list.  SO thankful.

And as for the TRUE A-Listers...  I hope they have their own people, too.  Because even if you are "really, really, really, ridiculously good-looking", you still need true friends.