Friends Cafe - social space for members under 25

[Kazzl]

Hey! Welcome to Friends Cafe.

This is a chill and chat space for young BB members to talk about anything and everything and make new friends.

When school's getting to you, uni or work has got you down, parents, partners, friends don't understand, and especially if you're feeling alone or lonely - come and relax awhile and talk to others who know just how you feel.

Our minds can cause us trouble, but they can also be amazing things that imagine beauty, love and fun. This cafe has everything you can imagine. To start with it's, well, a cafe. So there's chairs and tables, comfy couches for flopping, a big screen tele, unlimited download on computers for games, Spotify (or an old-school jukebox if you prefer), every movie you can think of on instant demand ... whatever you want, it's here. Post and tell us what'd you'd like.

Plus, there's an infinite menu of whatever food or drinks takes your fancy. And it's all free!

To kick it off, today we have a special range of Monster Milkshakes - those thick gooey shakes topped with cronuts, chocolate bars, cake, cookies ... whatever you want. And if you can get through one of them, you're a legend (and probably feeling a little bit sick LOL!)

Welcome friends.

[dark_unicorn]

Hi James!

I don't actively play flute anymore, but if I was given one I reckon I could remember most of the finger positions for the notes. Wow clarinet and trumpet! I've never played either but I do like to listen to them. I currently have voice lessons, and I play all sorts of percussion; drum kit, timpani, marimbas.. you name it! Flute was hard for me as I had never played a wind instrument before and it requires A LOT of air, so I found myself getting quite dizzy fairly quickly. But once you get used to the air levels and finger positions it's pretty OK.

T xx

[james1]

Hey Tara,

Oh wow, you're quite the musician, haha. Hmm, I might have to give the flute a shot.

I really want to take up singing lessons but they're so expensive and I just don't think it'll come to much good, but I'd love to give it a shot some time 🙂

James

[Zeal]

Hey everyone 😄

The weekend is almost here - I hope everyone is doing well, or if not, seeing something positive in the near future!

ahw: I can relate to feeling overwhelmed in Year 12. I was in Year 12 in 2010, so a while ago now! I agree with Dottie regarding the potential furthering of that relationship - just see where it goes. To be honest, change has always been a bit daunting for me too. By the way, my boyfriend is almost 25, and he is still friends with virtually all his high school mates! It's taken commitment to keep people together, but he's so glad to have the friendships still. These friends of his are the group of people I'm now friends with too 🙂 Like James said, some friendships will be stronger than others, and new friendships will emerge too. I have three friends from school - two from primary school and one from high school. I have known my best friend since we were 6 or 7 years old.

Dottie: the Chinese food was nice thanks! I always order plain Asian food though, as I literally cannot tolerate any chilli at all! 😛 I am so glad to hear you had an awesome night out with your friends!

Grace - welcome back 😄 I'd like to send my best wishes to you - you're a strong person and you can definitely get through this period! I hope you're still finding time to spend with your friends 🙂

James: Please take care of yourself. We're here to talk whenever you need!

Tara: I'm a bit Mum-like too sometimes. I have always been very careful with sun-care and keeping hydrated! The Bachelorette party sounds great - I bet it was funny at times too!

To anyone else reading, feel free to join in on the conversation 🙂

Best wishes,

Zeal

[Guest_322]

Hi friends,

Grace- lovely to meet you! Exam periods sure aren't fun so the stress is understandable. I think that loneliness and emptiness are deeply personal yet such universally felt feelings. So as much as those feelings can feel dark and be rough to deal with; as Tara said, you're in good company here 😉

I'm in my 2nd year of uni btw. Looking forward to hearing from you again!

Ahw- that's very nice of you to say. Your words made me smile- and you're most welcome. Glad you like the lyrics too!

James- yeah, sometimes it's hard to predict which friendships will last and which friends you'll become more distant from. And yeah, yeah the grammar police can sue me for the last one ha, ha. But silliness aside, you're right that people can change. Or their priorities change. Or their lives change. Either way, something changes.

Tara- your friends have their "mum" to thank for saving their skin ha, ha (literally). I think that it shows your caring nature.

You have awesome taste in music! Melanie Martinez AND Livin' On A Prayer? My, my we are music sisters 😉 Oh my goodness, your story about performing in mullet wigs made my day yesterday! The bachelorette party sounds like it was a tonne of fun and a fantastic excuse to dress up and spend time with friends.

Zeal- hope you're doing okay and see you around BB.

Rest Of the world- hi!

Dottie

[Guest_322]

Hi peeps,

Tara- you musician, you! So young and so talented. Practice makes it perfect, doesn't it? You're so versatile in your musical ability. It's fantastic that you can play so many instruments!

James- ah so it seems I'm surrounded by a bunch of musicians and music lovers. Clarinet and trumpet is great! And cost issues aside, I say go for it re: singing lessons.

Zeal- funny that I posted my last reply literally seconds before your post appeared.

If it helps, I'm no good with hot and spicy food either! I'm glad the Chinese food was yum. Thanks, I had a fantastic night! Nice to let my hair down (I had missed it for so long).

Other random comments- seeing as there are quite a few musically inclined people here, anyone heard of The Music? It's a free weekly magazine that features interviews with musicians as well as adverts for what's playing live at various venues. I love that mag (also because it's free!)

Also, I'm a huge fan of Nylon magazine (haven't bought an issue in a while though...might do that today). Features interesting interviews with all sorts of creative people, edgy fashion and the like (I've a feeling this is up your street, Tara!)

Thought that I would talk about something else other than my usual whinges about uni (you poor people have to listen to me moan endlessly about that).

Anyways, as far as my instrument playing goes, I only play the piano and used to be in a choir. Back in the day, my parents wouldn't let me do stuff that I wanted to like learn the drums or electric violin (one of these days, just you wait!)

Dottie

[Guest_322]

Tara, do you think it would be odd if I made everyone wear mullet wigs to my 21st next year?

Ha, ha it would be hilarious if nothing else. Maybe an 80s themed party ha, ha. Brainstorming.

Dottie x

[dark_unicorn]

Hello everyone! Yay it's the weekend!!!

Hi James! If you can, I think singing lessons are worth it, if it's something that you enjoy. I do lessons and exams through my school and I love it so much 🙂

Zeal! - The party was so fun 😛 It was hilarious watching everyone yelling at the TV when she chose someone we wanted or didn't want, or hearing the other girls discussing which guy was the hottest 😂

Hey Dottie! Haha yes they definitely thanked me! And music! WELL, I find I have a fairly alternative style; TØP, P!atd, Mel Martinez, Halsey, FOB, The Weekend....I could go on! I might check out Nylon...I have heard of it before, but never bought it, so I'll see if I can get it because it sounds great. Haha glad you liked the mullet story, it certainly is a performance I will be reminiscing about in years to come 😂 Yes! I think you should get everyone to wear mullets, it'll be hilarious and make a great story. I find that decade-themed parties are lots of fun (my sister recently went to a 70s one and she said everyone made an effort and looked amazing).

Tara xx

[Graceeeeee]

Oh God hi everyone... You surround me with kindness! Hi ahw309, I miss you too and you are a really positive influence to everyone. Hi James, nice to meet you. I have a hard time relaxing...even during the holidays. Yesterday I lost sleep all night and it was awful, although I did have a good day during the day. And as complicated as this may sound, my parents are visiting me for the holidays and I don't want them to, because it's my final break before everything gets heavy again and I wanted to hang out with friends... I know that might sound awful but oh well 🙂 And hi Tara, I love your profile picture and Tara is a very beautiful name too. Sorry to hear you feel that way too, I know how hard it can get. So you are in year 9 hey? I will be year 12 when this holiday finishes, so what's your school like? What's your favourite thing to do?

Nice talking to all of your peeps, beyond blue is honesty one of my best support nets when it comes to depression. Cheers to you all 🙂

With Love,

Grace xx

[Guest_322]

Hi everyone,

Tara- you are quite the Queen of Cool, aren't you? I'm clearly not as cool as you as I haven't heard of 4 of the 6 you mentioned ha, ha (I know Melanie Martinez and have heard of The Weekend).

But I'll have to keep them in mind and check out some of their music. Any recommendations?

My taste in music is pretty eclectic. I don't really have a favourite genre. For me, it's about the split second connection to a song (or not) ha, ha. I rely on my gut 😊

I agree that themed parties can be a blast! That 70s party sounds like it was loads of fun for your sister. Oooh...a 20s themed one would be amazing too!

True, the mullet wig performance is something you'll remember fondly in years to come. Thanks! Glad I've your approval for a potential 21st idea!

Grace- nice to hear from you again. Seems like you had a rough night last night. I think your feelings about your parents' upcoming visit is understandable. You're going into year 12 and want to make the most of your break- your parents' visit just hasn't been the best in terms of timing. Don't feel bad for the way you feel (I would probably feel the same if I was in your shoes!)

Rest of the crew- hi!

Dottie x

[dark_unicorn]

Hi Grace!

I love my school, I have (mostly) brilliant teachers 😛 and lots of friends so it's usually pretty good, although sometimes I wish homework was banned...You've probably noticed from my chats with Dottie that I'm a big music fan 🙂 I absolutely love playing any kind of instrument (I actually recently started playing piano again) and I love listening to music too. So Music, Maths (surprisingly), Global Media Studies and German are probably my fave subjects. What are yours?

Tara xx