By: Jane Tabet-Kirkpatrick
The girls in question on the author's recent trip to Madrid.
There are two physical measures that have routinely intermixed themselves into my experiences of connection the most: time and distance. My relationships (which have been heavily documented both on this blog and elsewhere) can largely be described as a function of distance over time. I’ve had several long relationships that primarily took place over substantial physical distances: boyfriends in different states, international friendships, and online acquaintances never to be met in real life. That remains true for my friendship with Generación/Generation’s very own editor in chief, Magdalena Mihaylova.
This six day trip to Madrid revolved around a single Thursday evening concert and was born out of a split second decision over an equally quick phone call.
Type-A friends are great, especially when it comes to organizing an event. In this case, when it came to Taylor Swift announcing her European concert dates, I was not one of the few that was willing to register in advance and wait online to purchase tickets. My fanaticism with the music icon was still not enough to beat my complete abhorrence towards concert ticket bureaucracy. Then a magical thing happened—Maggie gave me a call to inform me that she had secured four tickets for the Madrid show in May of 2024. We had both been fans previously in our childhood, so together we would nostalgically discuss her lyrics, chat about how we viewed them now and how we did when we were twelve; we had most of her extensive discography memorized, and to top it off, Tayor’s album Midnights was released while we were both living in the Canary Islands together—an early bonder in a relationship that has now become concrete.
It was on this recent trip to Madrid that I experienced a deeper appreciation for a third physical quality that has dramatically altered my connections with others: space.
There have been several spaces that have influenced my connections over time. I have always been intensely nostalgic for any apartment, dorm, room, or floor that has ever housed me. Through the following photos I document girlhood as a space that has allowed for wonderful connection and friendships to flourish. This girlhood space was created and secured by women and others who are determined in their kindness towards strangers. This girlhood has shaped and changed my connections toward the world; it has made me more empathetic, outgoing, and confident. These photos of space and girlhood help tell a larger story of connection.
June 30th, 2023. The last photo in my phone of Maggie before Madrid 2024.
While Maggie and I were limited in our communication with each other during the year of separation, we still managed to maintain our friendship through this very blog. It has given us an “excuse” to talk once a month, which I cherish. The communication in our relationship offers a stark contrast to that of a typical Generation Z friendship. In place of short texts that are sent daily, we have long form conversations through intimate writings and intense editing processes.
Nonetheless, we still send silly Tik Toks back and forth, and I can always count on receiving an all-caps text message with some lyric from a song that she is currently listening to. I enjoy these small levels of communication on their own as well. She doesn’t know this (except now she does) but I love receiving those texts, because I can imagine her so clearly with headphones in on the bus, or walking down the street, or sitting on her balcony and its even sweeter to think that in those moments my friend is on some level thinking of me.
May 30th, 2024 Maggie has her makeup done for the concert.
As I suspected, as soon as I got off the tram our conversation picked up where it had left off in that bar in June 2023. We immediately started reeling about the political and economic state of the world (Jaden Smith would have loved to be there) and gossiping about the biggest personal events from the year. We stopped at several different places to enjoy some beer and wine and probably spoke a bit too loud in English about some explicit X-rated content (I blame the red wine).
May 29th, Clare makes friendship bracelets in preparation for the Eras Tour
Two of Maggie’s best friends, whom I had never met before, also joined us for the concert. In keeping with the space, it didn’t take long for all of us to become friends.
May 30th, 2024. Jane and Natalia in their Reputation outfits.
Later that night, at the actual concert, there was a sort of bluetooth level of connection that radiated from the thousands of wonderfully dressed-up individuals who are all there to have fun, enjoy each other, sing and dance. As soon as we took our seats, there was a woman next to me who had come alone. She was originally from Spain but had been living in Australia for the past couple months, completing her school and English studies. She was a makeup artist who made her entire outfit by hand. We became instinctual friends and I even think we kissed (Maggie can confirm for sure).
It’s within these new spaces curated by women that I have felt my deepest connections, which have flourished irrespective of the distance and time that occasionally stands in opposition to connection.
A heartfelt goodbye from the author's friend after a whirlwind week of girlhood.
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