“I just want a group of people to go to Starbucks with on the weekends.”
When I first moved to Michigan nine months ago, I said that all I wanted for the school year was a group of girls I could feel comfortable with. Amidst a sea of starting high school and life in a whole new environment, it felt far-fetched and unattainable to assume I could immediately find my people, and scenarios of embarrassment ran rent-free through my head.
Yet, I have found friendships like I’ve never had before, and my love for my friends has far surpassed any of the expectations I set when I sat alone with my hands shaking during freshman orientation. The delight in finding my people has brought me such unimaginably joyful memories that will accompany my first year of high school as it concludes.
I never would have thought I would be at a newfound best friend’s brother’s basketball game, proudly standing with her, holding a sign for him. I never would have thought that I would have friends who so faithfully came to my games, to support and wave at me from the stands, waiting with open arms and reassurances when I stepped off the field. I never would have thought that Halloween night would be spent in my friends’ neighborhood wearing matching costumes.
They are so much more than I deserve, and I will always be grateful for the lasting impact I know my freshman year will have on me, thanks to my friends.
My first high school dance, and my second, was spent with my friends. From dress shopping at Windsor to sharing makeup and perfume to taking endless photos, they were there the whole time and are the reason why I’ll recall those nights for years to come.
Through the climaxes on dance nights and the lows of tears and miscommunications, they have been there through it all—something I could only have dreamed of when I first grasped the realization of starting over.
I had never restarted like I did in the summer of 2024, and needless to say, I was terrified of the repercussions and possibilities of meeting a whole grade who had not the faintest inclination of who I was. But somehow, dozens of Woodland Mall trips, tutoring sessions, hangouts, and hundreds of Starbucks runs later, I have never been so close with a group of people, and I’ve realized that I have never been so complimentary to another person like how I am with my best friend.
I’ve grown so much with these girls, from my confidence increasing to allowing myself to be vulnerable around others, and finding such an authentic connection is not something I expected to find with people in less than a school year.
They have given me the gift of friendship, fulfilling the one wish I had at the start of the school year, and I’m so grateful for the memories and connections fostered with the most understanding and kind people I have met.
