Unexpected Friendships
By Imani, age 15, South Africa
One thing I love about life is that it is full of surprises. You may think that you have it all figured out, but it turns out that you are wrong. There is still so much you have yet to learn, especially about people.
Starting from the time when I was in pre-school, I remember being in ballet class with the girl who kept giving me these "funny" looks while we would be prancing around like the little ballerinas we were. You know, the whole scrunching your face and other facial expressions you give off to let the person looking at you know you don't like them at all! Now, this girl was being so mean to me; just by her facial expressions I had decided to back off from her. But the following year, when I had reached grade one, she and I were, like, best friends. Even though our first meeting hadn't gone so well, we just magically became friends after getting to know one another, and as we parted ways we still went to each other's houses and played like little kids do.
Then, when I got to grade one, the boy who sat next to me was also one of those people who seemed a little bit offish to me. While we were doing some math exercises with blocks, he would take mine and destroy what I was working on. I gave him a piece of my mind by telling him off, but I ended up getting into trouble. But soon after that incident we would laugh together in class, and the boy I had never expected to be friends with ended being my friend.
Making new friends is one skill I have had to master, being that I have attended seven schools on two different continents. Although there are some friends you just lose contact with, like some of my primary school friends, there are also some who still stick with you. I have friends at my current school I had never thought I would ever be friends with. Like the girl I first met at my new school who seemed like she was a complete cow, but she ended up being my best friend. For some reason we just didn't seem to click, but as the year progressed we became really close, almost like sisters. I know everybody says first impressions last, and in a sense they do, but if you dig deeper a person may not appear as they seem on the exterior.
So all I am trying to say is don't rule out possible friendships. Maybe the really good looking jock or the girl everyone calls a sl** could end up being your friend. So my challenge to you today is to sit at lunch with or randomly introduce yourself to the really shy artist girl or someone from a completely different clique or background than you.
He or she might become your new BFF!
Peace and Love :)
