Take a Stand

I am an auditor. It is busy season. It is very unfortunate because I work ALL THE TIME! For serious, way too many hours here. But that isn't the point of this post, . . . the point is that I have work friends - a group of fabulous, intelligent, beautiful girls who work just as much as I do (and in some cases, more). We all know each other because we all thought it would be awesome to have a job when we graduated from college and so became accountants . . . selling our lives (ok, just our time) to one of the Big 4. None of us actually work together (nature of the job) . . . and we only see each other at work social events. Through it all, we have become friends. The only thing is that sometimes I feel like a misfit, like I don't really belong because I have this code by which I live (i.e. the Word of Wisdom) and therefore refrain from participating in all the activities. They have never batted an eye or tried to convince me to choose differently. So one way or another, this mismatched friendship has continued.

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Well, as I mentioned prior to going into that super long spiel . . . we have been incredibly busy at work - all of us at our respective clients. So one of the girls planned a little movie night for us to all hang out and relax. She issued me a special invitation, stating specifically that they all know I don't drink but that doesn't matter to them and they want me there. It was sweet of them to realize that I might be uncomfortable where the setting is less centered around work and to reach out and allay my concerns.

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Imagine my thoughts when I saw the mass emails flying back and forth, stating the movie options . . . all rated R. Now I know for many this doesn't matter, but to me, well it does. I tried ignoring them at first, thinking maybe there would be a way for me to gracefully bow out. But as I considered my options, I realized that would not be holding true to who I really am, to what I believe to be right. So I decided to follow that Sunday School advice from when I was maybe 14, to take a stand and let my friends know. Over instant messaging, I explained the situation to the girl who planned the event, explaining that I would in no way want to impose my beliefs on anyone else, but that I couldn't forsake them either. I offered to drop off the brownies and leave before the movie started. She instantly replied that she hadn't realized that there was a potential conflict for me - but in no way did she want me to miss out, instead asserting that a movie that all could watch would be shown. She suggested that I send an email to everyone and said that she was sure noone would care what movie we watched - they just wanted me to be included. The overwhelming responses reiterated that sentiment - no one cared about the movie, just to have a chance for friends to be together.

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How grateful I am that I was taught to stand for what I believe in. And how grateful I am to have friends who may not live by the same set of rules but definitely respect my standards.