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Knapp's Relational Model

Honestly, taking this class has opened my eyes a bit and made me rethink about all my past relationships.  I was extroverted during high school and halfway through WSU in Pullman. Now, I am much more introverted and have stayed connected with only a few people. One of those people is my friend Aaron, whom I consider a good friend. We've been friends for about 10 years.

Initiating Stage: We initially met through a mutual friend, AJ, when I went to WSU. I lived on the same floor as AJ during my first year, and we would often hop online to play games like League of Legends, Guild Wars 2, and World of Warcraft. Aaron was one of AJ’s friends from back home, so he introduced me to his group of friends that he played with online.

Experimenting Stage: Over the years, Aaron and I became much closer, playing more games together with him and his partner. We started hopping on voice calls, talking about what's going on in our lives every other weekend.

Intensifying Stage: Aaron became a really good friend to the point where he was the first person I’d call when going through something, especially family-related. I remember calling him to vent my grief when my mother passed away. 

Integrating Stage: Aaron's partner is very tech-savvy and set up their own private forums where they post memes and music. They always invite me to join their servers and forums, and I regularly share music and memes there as well. We also hop on voice chats whenever they’re free, talking about just about anything. Recently, we had a conversation about alternatives to traditional lawns since they didn’t want to maintain their grass anymore. We discussed using native plants that require less water compared to grass.

Meme Aaron posted in the server we're in which an alteration of one of my favorite memes.  I don't think the originally meme its appropriate to post in this classroom setting.


 

Bonding Stage: I've only met Aaron in person once when he and some friends stopped by on their way to Portland to visit another friend. Despite that, Aaron and his partner have always made me feel welcome, inviting me to visit and offering me a place to stay if I ever needed it due to family circumstances.

Currently, in our friendship, we’re in the maintenance phase, trying to keep in contact with each other by sharing memes and music. It’s always great to hear him talking about playing the Spanish music I’ve shown him at his workplace, where he gets weird looks since he’s Caucasian. He and his partner also love speaking their broken Spanish to me, and I find it hilarious. 

One of the song I showed Aaron that he played at work :



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