Spirit Animal vs. Spirit Friend

To be honest, I'm still not sure what a spirit animal is, so here's a definition via the always reliable urban dictionary:

Online, saying something or someone is your spirit animal is a statement that said person or thing is a representation of you or what you want to be.

That's cute.

I love living here, but sometimes you have to go through a lot of fake friends to get to the real friends. Lauren Conrad may have said as much on The Hills, but I digress.

I'm talking about the "spirit friend". This is the friend that is there in spirit. In fact, they are in spirit so much that they might as well be a figment of your imagination.  If your only interaction with them is via social media, that might as well be true.

The spirit friend knows a lot of people but has the unique ability to make each person feel like they are besties and confidantes. Unfortunately it can be a little easy to turn into the spirit friend, child, lover - you work, you play, you play harder then clean up the mess. 24 hours in a day is rarely enough and at the end of that day you may not have the time to listen to someone else's day or problems, even though you really want to.

There is a huge difference between being a busy person and a spirit friend. Here are a few reasons:

1. The spirit friend is reliable in their unreliability. To be in their presence is so rare and elusive that you don't know when you'll next see them, or if they'll really care.

2. The spirit friend is all about what is new and shiny. Even if you've known each other for years, have seen each other without eyebrows or endured each others' ugly cry, those moments barely amount to who can guarantee free entrance to Greystone Manor, bottle service, and a complimentary photograph.

3. The spirit friend says they're available, but never is available - to you. In this respect, the spirit friend is the ultra friend on paper, but never really makes concrete attempts to see you. Always says their door is open, but never is there to open the door - although you can see or hear them every so often on the street, at a bar, or wherever else. (Please see reason #2 for emphasis.)

A busy person makes time, even if it's five minutes, even if it's in silence, to be there in some capacity. A busy person adores leggings-and-sweatshirt you AND wolf whistles winged-mascara you, H&M realness and all. A busy person texts novels and is insulted when you don't do the same. In short, spirit friend behavior is best in theory, but not reality. It may be cute at first but after a while it's like a grown adult speaking in baby talk - frustrating and difficult to understand.

There are more than enough spirit friends in this small town, thanks to how engulfed it is by the entertainment industry - don't add to the numbers! That said, it is possible to experience priceless, close-knit relationships that you think would only be possible somewhere like Minden, Louisiana --  and that is a huge reason as to why leaving isn't an option.

Just yet.