For this blog post I interviewed my neighbor Nick. The following paragraphs will show his responses to the three questions regarding the blog post and explain how they relate to Kilmartin’s “No Man Is an Island: Men in Relationships.”
Nick struggled to find a direct answer when first being asked why him and his best friend, Ryan, are so close. After hearing his response, it was obvious that their friendship meets a lot of the qualities in Kilmartin’s Relationship Basics, primarily: “[p]ractical support[… ,] [e]motional or social support[… and] [e]motional intimacy[.]” (162) Nick explained that Ryan provides him with the support and motivation he feels he needs when things are not going well. Whenever there is a conflict, Ryan is always there for him. Nick also stated that him and Ryan are able have deep conversations about most things without either of them being reluctant to participate.
They spent their entire childhood together- going to the same elementary school, high school and CEGEP. When I asked Nick what activities they enjoyed doing together, he explained that whenever there is the opportunity for them do something as a group, they call each other right away. As mentioned in Kilmartin’s article, this bond allows for their relationship to solidify and be more open to one another.
The last question I asked Nick was if he had ever expressed his appreciation towards Ryan. He answered with “even though I never verbally told him how much he means to me, our day-to-day says it all.” He shies away from telling Ryan because he does not want anything to be taken the wrong way and risk breaking that trust and honesty they have between one another. He finished with “Ryan is my best friend and I do not need to tell him how much he means to me for him to know that I appreciate everything he does for me.”
Lovers and Fighters | Section 22 