For many, pets are an essential part of childhood. Walking the family dog, feeding the class goldfish, chasing around an irritable cat that wants nothing to do with you whatsoever. For generations, pets were cute, furry creatures with the occasional scaled or feathered friend thrown in. But, for kids of the late 1990s, the entire concept of what a pet is, does and means was turned on its head. Suddenly, they could be more.

How do you actually become friends with someone? Is it a slow process of getting to know each other or is there a moment when you just hit it off? Do we enjoy staying friends with people who have become part of our lives or does there come a point when we just let them go? I was Facebook friends with a woman named Claire when I was in college and we used to discuss sci-fi movies together. Though we've lost touch, I miss the friendship we had developed over that very specific topic of conversation.

How do you actually become friends with someone? Is it a slow process of getting to know each other or an instant moment, when you just hit it off? Do we enjoy staying friends with people that have become part of our lives or sometimes, with distance, we just let them go? I was Facebook-friends with this girl Claire when I was in college and we used to discuss sci-fi movies together. Though we've lost touch, I miss the friendship we had developed over a very specific topic of conversation -- sci-fi movies.