I had this editorial published in the February 6th issue of the Kishwaukee Kaleidoscope. Let me know what you think!
Have you ever seen the show the Big Bang Theory? I love that show. Not only is it hysterically funny, but from the first episode I felt like I could really relate to it. Why? Because all through highschool, I felt like Penny. Penny is the ridiculously average girl who happens to live near geniuses Leonard and Sheldon. Through circumstances, she ends up being a part of their circle of nerdy genius friends, who all happen to be guys. In high school, most of my friends were super-nerdy boys. Half the time I didn't know what they were talking about, but they were funny and I loved them just the same.
Now if you have ever seen the show, you know that Leonard has a major crush on Penny. For the longest time Penny and Leonard are just friends. Leonard has all this deep unrequited love for Penny, and she just doesn’t seem to know about it. To her Leonard is just a friend, and for most of the show, that is how she sees him.
I know that I'm not the only girl out there who has guy friends. Just like I know there are all kinds of guys who have mostly girl friends. I also know that this unrequited love where one person (Leonard) falls madly in love with the other person (Penny) happens all the time. It has happened to me. It has happened to friends of mine who have come to me crying about it. There has also been a time or two where someone who I thought was just a friend has told me they hoped for something more. It happens.
This all leads to the million dollar question. Has there ever been a friendship between a boy and girl that has been strictly platonic? Where no romantic feelings have ever been entertained by either party? Or is it simply inevitable that if two people spend enough time together and get to know each other well enough that at least one of them will fall in love with the other one?
I used to think that the platonic relationship was completely possible. If you would have asked me this question in high school, I would have answered without a doubt. I could have even given you examples of guy friends that I had who I didn't feel romantically towards at all. But was I really being honest with myself? Maybe I did have romantic feelings towards them at one time or another. Besides, who was I to judge if they had ever liked me?
So now I'm lost. I used to be so sure of how I felt about this, and now I'm rethinking everything I already thought. Which means everyone should email me at kscope@kishwaukeecollege.edu and let me know what they think. Can guys and girls just be friends?
