Editorial - Making Friends With Salad

As of writing this, I’ve been playing at being a vegetarian for four days.Yes, I decided to give it a go, partly because I like animals and partly because I wanted to see if I could do it. It’s actually quite easy, as it goes. There’s a bean for everything now, and garlic bread and potatoes are both vegetarian, so you don’t need much more. Will I keep it up? Who knows, but I’m feeling quite positive about the whole thing. Speaking of feeling positive, I was having a devil of a time trying to come up with some witty observations for this editorial, until I realised I don’t have to be witty and observant when I have the rest of the fabulous Byline staff to do it for me. At the end of the day, these little snippets are just something we tack onto the first page to provide an introduction to the important part of the magazine - namely, everything else that’s in it. We’ve got quite a team of talented folks here, it has to be said, and I’m proud of and grateful to every last one of them.I’ve been thinking a lot about friends lately. Not the programme, although as time goes on it does worry me how much of myself I see in Chandler. I mean friends as in buddies, pals, broskis and sisters (not just cis-ters). I’ve been thinking about the people I’ve surrounded myself with and the people I’ve worked with and the people I exchange time with. Friends, when you find good ones - and I have - are the most powerful people on earth; they can change your life without really trying.It’s often been said that the world is a mean place, but we often don’t need to look too far to find some kindness in it. There’s kindness in the little favours we do for each other, there’s goodness in the way we interact, and these are things worth saving, preserving, and continuing - those times a stranger let you pet their dog, for example, or whenever your friend sends you a meme they think you’d like. It’s all done out of love.I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without the people I’ve somehow convinced to put up with my nonsense for any significant period of time, whether they be in the past or in the present. Our friends influence us to a point where we even start mimicking their speech patterns, and yet we still manage to remain individuals in our own right; we just band together because we’ve figured out that these people are some of the greatest kindnesses we’ve been granted on this mess of a planet. We’d do well to appreciate each other, I think.So, without getting too mushy about it, this is both a thank you, and a reminder. To all my friends and acquaintances and interesting people I’ve conversed with on public transport - but mostly the friends - I say you are the best beans in the tin; the goodest eggs in the carton; the sweetest strawberries in the punnett, and I am eternally grateful for all you are. To everyone else, this is a reminder to take the time to appreciate the people you call friends. Make sure they’re doing OK today. Maybe send them a meme. There’s a great one of Danny DeVito with an egg - actually, no, I’m not going to start making meme suggestions in my editorials, that’s going way too far. The point is, appreciate each other, as I have appreciated you.Now go and enjoy the magazine, you nerds.