#broshow

This past week with the NHL Western Conference Finals coming to an end (as a Hawks fan, I don’t want to talk about it) and a birthday to celebrate, I was fortunate to participate in one of my favorite pass times: broing out.

One of my close friends always teases me when I tell him that my evening plans consist of broing out. To him it’s, “Michelle’s spending the night hanging out with a bunch of dudes”. Yeah, he’s right. Broing out essentially consists of me, hanging out with a group of my guy friends, doing something. Broing out can be over drinks at the bar, watching the hockey game, going to a ball game, or just sitting around the living room bitching about life. But there’s more to broing out then just hanging out with a bunch of dudes.

It all stems from my childhood. I’ve always been a guy’s girl. Since a young age I’ve always been a tomboy. Picture it, me at 7 years old with hair down to my back side, a backwards ball cap, and a Puma track suit (remember, my parents are Polish – really Polish). My closest friends have always been boys and we would spend our time playing kickball on the black top.  I blame the whole thing on my father and brother.

My father was very athletic in his prime and loved exploring sports in America. He was fascinated at the fact that kids partook in a number of different athletics, not just soccer. At a young age, he made us all at least try a number of different sports. He didn’t force it upon us, he just told us if we liked it good, if we didn’t we didn’t have to stick it out. The gender thing never bothered him. He thought that if his daughter was just as athletic as the boys, why couldn’t she play with them.

My brother played a bigger part in my tomboy ways. When my mom was pregnant with me  my brother prayed for a baby brother. When I came around it didn’t stop him from treating me like one anyways. He taught me how to shoot a jump shot, rough housed with me, and updated my wardrobe from Puma to Nike. He would let me tag along with him when he would get together with his friends and taught me the essence of broing out.

 Since then, I have always been able to relate to boys better. I didn’t really have close girl friends until I got into high school. I was always found in the midst of a pack of boys when I was in elementary school, holding my own in a game of kickball while the girls in my class played hop scotch. The same would be said in high school and then in college, minus the hop scotch. At a young age, I never really saw a problem with it. However, as I got older I noticed that my tight knit friendships with the opposite sex were not as kosher as I thought it was.

First, other girls always think either A) I’m sleeping with one if not all of the guys in a certain group or B) If their boyfriend or current interest is in our group of friends, I am not to be trusted because obviously I’m one trying to seduce them with my useless knowledge of zone defense. Now I would be lying if I said that I had never gotten involved with one of my guy friends. But trust me people it’s far from an orgy where I’m being passed around from one brohan to another. If you’ve ever met some of my guy friends you would agree with me that it’s neither enticing nor appealing.  I’m a classy lady and I respect myself too much to place myself in that situation. Furthermore, I respect other women and would never make a pass or become involved with someone who has a significant other.  So ladies of the world, relax, I’m not trying to take your man. 

Boys have a similar side-eye approach to the matter. Perfect example. Couple months ago I met this guy through a friend of mine. He was in the process of getting his masters, had a decent job, had a similar interest in sports teams, and was over 6’0 tall. All in all, a decent catch. Things seemed to be going well, until the subject of my group of friends came up. He was completely turned off at the fact that I had so many guy friends. He wasn’t thrilled when I told him that I was sorry that I was not going to update my inventory of friends by booting the boys. Needless to say, conversations didn’t extend any farther. I’m a loyal person, I’m not one to step out, and I’m not one to creep. And as stated before, just because I’m friends with a guy it doesn’t automatically mean I’m sleeping with them. So gents of the world, if I say I’m going to grab a beer with the boys, believe me when I say it’s not going to turn into a tall tale found between the pages of Penthouse.

Then there’s the friend zone. The phrase, “she’s like one of the guys” has haunted me my whole existence. The majority of the time it’s fine, but there are those instances where the phrase hits you like a kick to the gut. There are times where you really like a bro, find that you’re really hitting it off and that things are taking off, and then all of a sudden BAM it hits – “She’s like on of the guys”. I try my best to separate my bro self from my girl self. If I like a guy I try my best not to treat them like a bro. You know, like trying to make sure my hair doesn’t look like it’s throwing up gang signs, trying to stray away from my signature jean and T-shirt look, and try to talk about something other than Da Bears.  Yet, I still find myself stuck behind the goal line of the friend zone. A  tip to the dudes of the world; if we’re hitting it off and things tend to be going in the right direction, realize that I in fact am not a guy, even if I can humiliate you in a game of HORSE. 

Despite the minor downfalls of brodom, I would never change a thing. Over the years my guy friends have played an instrumental part of my life. They have taught me how to be tough and go through life with a thick skin, to take my tomboy ways and use them to help me grow to be the woman I am today, to understand that guys are pigs but deep down they don’t mean any harm, and that if a boy breaks my heart they can have him destroyed within minutes. That type of commitment and friendship is totally worth the orgy rumors.