Somebody’s Friend - Upstate

There is something special about being invited to someone’s birthday party. On the one hand, they thought of you. They thought their day, this only special day each year set out specifically for them, would be better for your being there.

On the other hand, it creates a new responsibility. If you attend, you’re not representing yourself, but the version of yourself you’ve presented this person consistently enough for them to think they know you. This is who they want their friends to meet.

And when you arrive, you are the unknown quantity. Although you were invited, you don’t quite belong. You float there on the periphery, wondering whether you’re effectively playing your part, or if somehow you’re secretly letting everybody down.