Weighted Bonds

I needed a place to stay for at least two weeks. My school would oddly only allocate rooms on campus to students weeks after the resumption date. There was hardly anyone that could take me in for that long other than an old friend back in secondary school. Took me in and treated me like a brother. The interesting thing was that we weren't even all that close back then.

"Onward together" was our motto back then in the military school we attended. We took it seriously, and we somehow developed this mindset of sticking with each other no matter what, especially back then. Everything we experienced together forged a connection within us all. And it still works now, even after so many years since we all graduated.

That really is how it is with people in general. You meet people, become tight with some of them over time, and then bonds are formed, some of them even lasting for life.

Many would say that "blood is thicker than water," suggesting that family ties are stronger than any other type of relationship, but the reality I have seen is that this really isn't the case most of the time. Although you could find really strong relationships between siblings or between some kinds of family members, such a thing can also be found with people that aren't even related at all. One thing that is common between both categories is shared experiences and the impacts of those experiences.

It usually isn't enough to know people and deem who to truly call a friend in little time. People can be different in different seasons, and seeing many of their sides helps to assess people better, which often takes time.

When a considerable amount of time passes and there are many shared experiences that have allowed both parties to deeply understand the other person, and a true bond is formed, you'll find that what they have is probably way stronger than what they may have with some relatives.

People sometimes like when things validate their misaligned entitlement, so using the quote "blood is thicker than water" becomes very convenient in times of need. The first thing that often comes to mind for that quote is that relations should always come first. Sadly, the rule doesn't apply to them when the tables are turned.

In reality, "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb" implies the opposite from what is usually interpreted from the former quote, that the relations we choose are far stronger than the ones that we inherit. At the end of the day, it's about the bonds that are tested and proven over time.