Senior Reflections #1

Prompt #1:

Identify a person on this campus who has influenced you in a positive way. Think of a specific moment and describe an exchange that illustrate how s/he has had an impact on your life.

Senior year was full of internal and external pressures. Students worried about their college admission chances; parents worried their child would never go to a “good” college. It is during the most difficult times that knowing who your true friends were really proves to be true.

It started off with the most innocent of conversations. It was the first day of school, and I did not know the girl sitting behind me. However, I found out recently that she was dating one of my friends, Ronald, so I used that as a conversation starter. She was like, “Yeah, I’m dating him,” and our whole friendship started basically from me making fun of her about her boyfriend.

That continued on until December, where our relationship could have been categorized as superficial and insignificant. But, one day in December, we happened to be chatting online, and she asked if I wanted to go on a walk with her to get pearl milk tea (I was like her 5th choice though :/). I decided to go because I could not handle staring at another blank page of essay writing for college admissions. After a deep conversation, we happened to connect, and I knew we were going to be good friends.

What transpired after was more pearl milk tea talks, more lunch/dinner hangouts, and just more hangout sessions in general. We basically talk every day, and we tell each other some of our life’s most pressing issues.

She made my senior year more fun and more alive. What started out as teasing each other turned into a friendship (we still tease each other). When I did not have a partner for a physics lab, she was there to be my partner. When I needed someone to talk to, she was there. When I needed a ride home, she woke up from her nap to come drive me home. When I needed comfort, she gave me happiness. When I needed someone, she became my friend. She got me through college applications, normal models, rotational inertia, Hamlet, prom issues, friend issues, and college acceptance letters. Maybe best of all, she was just there to listen and be supportive.

“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but a matter of moments.” I am thankful for all the moments that she created with me. I will treasure them forever.

After the summer, we will be going to different colleges, different places, and different situations. I hope that even with the distance between us, that our friendship will remain constant.

So, again, for a wonderful senior year, and for making me feel like I have a place in society, I just want to say thanks.

Thanks, Sera.

“Make my messes matter. Make this chaos count. Let every little fracture in me shatter out loud.”