Will You Be My Friend?

My dear bipolars,

Recently I was at a dinner party when the conversation turned to mental illness. One of the people there talked about opening up with coworkers about having wrestled with depression. "Did you ever feel like you were all of a sudden part of a secret group?" the person asked. Sad to say, I've been a party of one for two decades. What I wouldn't do for a high functioning bipolar friend.

Someone who gets shadow hallucinations--either visual or auditory--and knows it's just a sign of stress. Someone who has funny war stories. Someone who enjoys hypomania for the Superman feeling it gives them in a crowd.

I don't need my bipolar friend to constantly talk about our shared disorder. It'd just be nice to have someone who's been there, whose eyes don't get wide when you tell them you're manic depressive, who knows your disorder is a vital part of your personality.

So for now, I'll tell myself it's society that has something to learn. Not me.