HOW DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO THINK OF YOU?
"That they can rely on me when they need me and that I've been loyal to them. Hopefully that I've made them laugh somewhere along the way, and did something kind for them." 

"That no matter what the circumstance, you can count on me.  I may not show up for everything and I may be a little late, but in the dire circumstances that we really need each other, we're there."

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE UNFORGIVABLE TO YOU?
"If they did something to my children."

"I've pretty much forgiven masses of wrong doing.... My godfather, who passed away, brought this psycho lady he was dating around my daughter. He didn't explain to me quite the extent of how nuts she was and convinced me she was safe and fine and that I could run to the store real quick and come back. And I did, foolishly. She robbed my house while I was gone- with my daughter there. She didn't touch her but I realized at some point that this woman was an addict and I left her with my child. And that this man whom I trusted with my life didn't explain to me the extent of what she was really about. And I never forgave him."

DO YOU REGRET THAT?
"I do. Immensely. He would write me letters on a monthly basis if not more frequently and letters to my daughter. He died a really painful and horrible death and I wasn't there at all for the last couple years of his life. I didn't forgive him and I have a lot of guilt about that." 

DO YOU FORGIVE HIM NOW?
"I do. He was in a bad place himself and I couldn't let it go. I have tremendous guilt about that. But you know, I'm Jewish." 

*Join the conversation. Has a friend ever done something to you that you felt was unforgivable?*

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A FRIENDSHIP THAT ENDED DUE TO EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES AND WHY?
"A close friend of mine got involved with this guy, who I couldn't get along with due to his negative behaviors. So I told her she would have to discontinue our friendship because I couldn't deal with his negativity. So, we just stopped talking and as of now still aren't talking." 
WAS THE NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR HARMFUL OR WAS HE JUST A NEGATIVE PERSON?
"Negative in the ways he talks to her. I just couldn't be around that." 
WILL YOU TALK TO HER AGAIN IF SHE ENDS THE RELATIONSHIP? 
"Oh, definitely I'll talk to her when she opens her eyes up and realizes how he is, I'll always be there for her but she has to understand my feelings as well." 

AND DO YOU HAVE A STORY THAT MAKES YOU THINK OF FRIENDSHIP? 
"When I was a child, my brother and I would hang out with our neighborhood friend and we would put on a gymnastic show where we would sell tickets. I forget how much they were, maybe 50 cents. We had about a thousand tickets and sold maybe 10, but having my family and friends all putting a show together was great.

*Join the conversation. Lost a friend? Do you have a story? What makes you think about friendship?*

WHAT IS THE NICEST THING A FRIEND HAS EVER DONE FOR YOU?
"Somebody's lied for me."
"Bailed me out of jail." 
"Accepted me for my flaws." 
"Someone once put my name on a marquee for my birthday. That was very cool." 
"...Forgiven me for all the bad things I've done." 
"...The last time I moved my house. It was the coolest thing ever. I went on Facebook and everyone showed up, like 17 people, and it was the fastest move ever. We were a human conveyer belt. It was done in like two hours. My entire house. Everyone just showed up."
"At the '92 spectrum [Dead] shows, nobody got high in the same section I was in. Well, for the first two nights.


*** Join the conversation. What is the nicest thing a friend has ever done for you? ***

WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES YOUR FRIENDSHIP SO SPECIAL?
"We share years of experiences. Whether we experienced them the same or differently, there are all these years and bonds. Watching each other grow, while at the same time going in our own directions but never parting ways."
"Acceptance. Loyalty. It's a willingness to tell each other when you've done something wrong. It's genuinely caring about what happens to one another."
 "It's a matter of feeling comfortable. Of saying who you really are, being yourself and not having to change that or pretend to be something that you're not and know that it's authentic."

Every week One, unified is discovering the common threads that people from all walks of life share...

Friends. Where would we be without them? 
It's been said that friends make the good times better and the hard times easier. A good friend is there to share your joys and wipe your tears. Sometimes, they know us better than we know ourselves. Your closest friends aren't just people to run around with. They are life's mirrors. They reflect back to us the best parts of us and the worst parts too, and that is why we need them as much as we do. 

Whether you've known each other forever and have never left one another's side, or whether distance and time stands between you, true friends are always close at hand. It's the people who you know that when the going gets rough, really really rough, will find a way to be there. They can't always make it okay, but they can help you to understand that someday, some way, it will all be okay again. It's the people who stand by your side and revel in your successes, never jealous or scornful. It's the ones who couldn't be happier for your joys than if they were joys of their own. It's the first people who we want to call when we get a new job, or a new love, or when our heart has been broken.

Almost everyone has had at least one true good friend. Even those in the darkest depths of despair have most likely had someone, at some time in their life, that they loved and trusted like family despite no bond of blood. Some people believe that we make friends with certain people because our souls recognize in them something special, something that connects with what is deep inside of us. Sometimes we only find one person like that in our entire lifetime, a soulmate some might call them. Sometimes we are lucky enough to meet several of these people as we walk life's path. They may come in and out of our lives. They may touch us for a brief time and then move on. But no matter what the nature of our friendship's may be, they are relationships like no other. They help shape us, they guide us, they help make us who we are. 

So how do we meet them? How do we make those connections? And what do they mean to our lives? We've spent some time connecting with people this week so that we could find out. Does friendship mean the same to you as it does to them? Did the people we met feel like they have the kind of friendships that stand the test of time? Do you? Join us all this week and meet those we spoke with. Together we will see if there are any common threads between us and them....

Friendships.  Just one thing that makes us One, unified. 

Have you ever looked at someone who, on the outside seemed vastly different from you or anyone you know, only to later find that you had more in common than you ever could have imagined?
It's true that people come in all forms... all shapes, sizes, colors, backgrounds. People come from wealth and poverty. They come from tight knit families and broken homes. They go to their preferred houses of worship, or they worship at the alter of the sun and earth. 
On the outside you may look at someone and think, "what could we possibly have in common?" But, dig a little deeper and you'd be very surprised. You see, at the very heart of us, most of us feel the same joys and the same pains. Most of us want similar things out of life. 
So, how is it that such vastly different people, people who grew up in different places, in different cultures, with different influences and under different circumstances, can so similarly answer the same questions.... What is important to you? What makes you tick? What does friendship or family or fun mean to you? How is it that time and time again, it's the same common threads that run through all walks of life? 

We will be spending time every week getting to know people, talking to people, photographing people. We will be spending time getting people's thoughts and feelings about subjects that are important to us, to you. And when we're done, we think you will find that we are all in this together. There really are ties that bind. And best of all, they are not hard to find. In a world full of division, full of separation, it will be good to uncover the thoughts, the feelings, the things that make us one, unified. 

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Visit our ABOUT page to learn more about the authors of this blog, and about our journey.
And please contact us via social media or through the contact page here on our site if there is something you would like to see featured, someone you would like to see photographed, or something that you know runs in common through us all.*