Best Buddies

Meagan and Steph

How long have you been friends?
Meagan and I have been Best Buddies for a year and a half, since October 2006.

What do you have in common?
We both like to be creative. We like colours and the textures of fabrics. Often we laugh when we’re both in a clothing store, and we’re both touching all the clothes to get the texture. It’s a characteristic we both share. We also both like girly stuff; nothing like pampering!

Meagan: We like the same music and we both love going shopping. We both love going to the movies. We both love having coffee. We like touching clothes.

What are your favourite activities that you’ve done together?
My favourite activity so far was when we went rollerblading. Neither of us had been rollerblading in years. After three hours, we were zooming around the rink at high speeds, and neither of us had fallen over. We were so proud of our achievement!

We both love to do girly stuff; shopping, going to see chick flicks, making jewellery, cooking delicious Smarty-covered cookies, venturing through markets, trying on hats, dancing the night away at dancing lessons, and rollerblading.

Meagan:  Has to be shopping! The Aquarium was good. Going to the Queen Vic Market – I really enjoyed that…and having coffee.

What is one of the funniest things that happened while you have been spending time together?
The funniest thing so far was probably when we went Christmas shopping to Chadstone. Driving home, I was wearing a Santa hat. We were playing Christmas carols and singing our lungs out. We were being incredibly silly, and had an absolute blast.

Meagan:  It’s funny how we both like touching clothes. Just being silly. We just break out singing funny songs.

What do you like about each other, what have you learnt from each other?
From Meagan I have learnt new ways of doing things. I’ve discovered what it’s like for someone to live with certain everyday challenges, and how to get around those challenges.

What has Best Buddies meant to you in your life?
I’m so grateful to be a part of Best Buddies. It is such a privilege to be able to make such a difference in someone’s life.

What has your friendship meant to you?
I can honestly say that Meagan is now, quite literally, one of my best buddies. We are such good friends, and most of the time we forget the way we became friends. It just seems so natural, as if we’ve always been friends. Not only do I help Meagan, but she’s there for me too, always ready with a cheerful smile and a listening ear. I cannot imagine not having Meagan as a friend. Being friends with Meagan has made life more full.

Meagan:  We’re great friends. It’s good having a friend to go out with. I really enjoy having fun with Steph.

Why do you think other people should get involved in Best Buddies?
I think people should get involved with Best Buddies to get a new perspective on life, to see the world from a point of view they might never encounter elsewhere. But the most important reason would be to let someone know that they are an important person who deserves to be noticed, deserves friendship, and who is very much worth the effort. You’ll end up with an amazing friend!

Cryss and Chloe

Cryss and Chloe have been friends since 2007 through BBA. Here Cryss tells us about her friendship with Chloe...
A colleague at work approached me and said that they knew of an organisation that I would be really interested in getting involved in, as I'd commented that I wanted to take on some extra curricular community work.

I ended up attending a Big Brothers Big Sisters information night. At this night a few of the subsidiary groups presented, one of which was Best Buddies.

Whilst I was attracted to BBBS, Best Buddies seemed to strike a chord with me as it's more aligned to peer friendship rather than adult/child mentoring. Also for personal reasons I didn't think I could commit to the weekly arrangement of BBBS, Best Buddies is a fortnightly arrangement.

Chloe (my buddy) and I have been paired for about a year, we see each other pretty much twice a month unless either she or I are away. Chloe spends some time at her family's home in Tootgarook, the beach house she loves!

'Remarkable' is one of the many adjectives I could use to describe Chloe, she is an extremely artistic soul. She is an accomplished pianist - the best I could do is 'Chopsticks'; she sings (although she won't sing for me!) - I can barely hold a note. She paints - I've dabbled in canvas; she loves the theatre and movies, me too...also we both have a love for good coffee and nice cafes. We just click!

Chloe is very caring and shares a lot with others, this rubs off, she makes me a nicer person. She makes me raise my own bar.

Our 'pairing' has evolved over the past few months, whereby I find myself thinking about her more often. When we don't see each other, she is in my thoughts just like any other of my girlfriends, which means a lot to me. Participating in Best Buddies has been one of the most valuable experiences of my life. We are no longer a Best Buddies pairing; we are friends!