Since I moved to Evanston in September, my social network has greatly changed. I’ve lost contact with many of my old friends, but have been adding new ones through work, school, and church. I love hanging out with all my new friends and strengthening our relationships with one another.

However, I recently had an old friend from my previous church contact me on Facebook. I hadn’t communicated with him in over 6 months and he wanted to meet for dinner. My initial reaction was to say no based on what I had just learned in class that day. We learned about Dunbar’s Number and how the average human is only able to comfortably maintain 150 socially stable relationships. I really like my old friend and enjoy spending time with him, but was this relationship valuable enough to maintain? Wouldn’t it be better to eat dinner with one or more of my new friends?

After meditating on this, I decided that it is absolutely worth it to meet up with my old friend. Dunbar’s Number is not a law and it shouldn’t guide my decision in how many friendships I can have. This old friend is a great human being and the kind of person I want to spend time with.

Also, I do believe it is possible to build strong friendships that can last a lifetime. Even if I haven’t spoken with a friend for years and they are not part of the ~150 relationships I am currently maintaining, I can still call them to catch up because we previously established a strong relationship with one another.

As cheesy as it is, I had to smile when one of my new friends told me this nursery rhyme: “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold.” I hope you all take the time today to meet someone new or call an old buddy because you can never have enough friends.

I had a great and relaxing Spring Break from classes. On our first weekend off, my friend and I took a road trip to Nashville to see the sights and experience the southern, country culture. We visited a number of attractions including the Country Music Hall of Fame (CMHOF).
While at the CMHOF, there was an exhibit on Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. The exhibit explained the impact Dylan and Cash had on Nashville in the 1960s. When Bob Dylan arrived in Nashville in 1966 to record his album, he served as a catalyst for other musicians to visit. Through his friendship with Johnny Cash, many musicians visited Nashville to record their albums or to sing on Cash’s network TV show, The Johnny Cash Show. With so many musicians visiting Nashville, it quickly earned the nickname Music City and remains a focal scene for music stars today.
Since we just started the quarter yesterday, I am fascinated by the Understanding and Leveraging Networks course we are taking. In applying what I learned in class, Dylan and Cash had an extensive network of friends and colleagues in the music business. Due to their popularity, they had a magnetic effect to draw music professionals to visit Nashville.
After reflecting on this, it’s shown me the value that a large social network can have. We should never underestimate power of networks or the influence we can have on others. I look forward to this quarter and learning how we can improve and leverage our social networks like how Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash did for Nashville in the 1960s.