The Beginning of a Lifelong Friendship
It was a crisp fall morning at Calavera Hills Middle School. The bell rang, and I shuffled into my science class with the rest of my classmates for first period. Everyone was so busy talking and settling into the class that no one noticed the new girl.
Jill, a quiet Taiwanese girl, stood right next to Mrs. L in front of the class. I had seen her in class, but she did not talk much. My friends and I figured she was just shy.
“Good morning, class. This is Jill Chiang. She came from Taiwan and needs help adjusting into the classroom.” As she introduced Jill, Mrs. L looked at me. “You can sit next to Emily. She can help you.” Jill shuffled over and sat across the lab table.
I was one of the only Asian students in my class. Mrs. L placed Jill next to me because she figured that I could relate to Jill. But, besides being Asian, we didn’t have much in common. I wasn’t much help to her. I couldn’t speak Chinese. I’m not from Taiwanese descent. And I never visited Asia. I had no idea where to begin.
We looked at each other nervously, uncertain about how we would communicate with one another. The silence was unbearable. Eventually, Jill pulled out her English-Chinese electronic dictionary. The small mechanism was useless. Nevertheless, it offered comfort to both of us that there was this possibility that we could break through the language barrier.
Later that period, Mrs. L explained to me that Jill had trouble navigating Schoolloop, an online grading and homework submission platform. When we were in middle school, owning a smart phone or having classroom laptops were not common. With no tools to show her the site, I had to draw out the interface and slowly explain to her how to use Schoolloop from my vague memory of what the website looked like. As I explained Schoolloop, Jill tried to follow along, furiously typing on her dictionary to make sense of everything. “Do you get it?” She nodded. But I knew that she was still confused.
From that day onwards, I made it a priority to help her get used to school. Most of my science period was dedicated to helping Jill catch up and understand the course expectations. Eventually, she started to understand the flow of CHMS. With much patience, I was able to guide her through the rough terrain of middle school. Little did I know, this would be the start of a lifelong friendship.
From Young Girls to Strong Women
Jill and I grew up together. From getting ready for our first Hoopcoming to popping bottles of wine during the pandemic, we were by each other’s side through all of the fun and tough moments in life. It is a blessing to watch her grow and become so well adjusted in the United States. When she crossed the stage to get her B.S. in Civil Engineering at SDSU, it brought a tear to my eye. Not too long ago, she had to type in every science term into her dictionary. Now, she possesses a degree in a field of study that requires complex computations and physics — something that I consider foreign. Jill navigated an unfamiliar territory so effortlessly. It never ceases to amaze me.
When people look at the two of us, they think our chit chat and laughing fits were something that we always had in our 10 years of friendship. But it’s far from the truth. Our friendship started with an uncomfortable silence and broken conversations. We had to grow together for many years before we were finally “in sync.” Now, it is impossible to get the both of us to shut up.
As we revisited all of the spaces we used to share, Jill and I are reminded of how lucky we are that fate brought us together. To have a friend like her is special. I know that our friendship will last a lifetime.
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Emily
Special Note: Congrats on graduating, Jill! I am so proud of you, and everything that you have accomplished. I will always be right by your side cheering you on at every stage of your life. Thank you for being my sista! Here’s to many more decades of friendship to come.
