The first day of freshman year, I was surrounded by people I hadn’t seen in about a year and a half because I was in online school. Like any other freshman, I felt super nervous and was scared that I was not going to have any friends.

Period after period, the hours seemed to tick by so slowly. Finally, the bell rang for lunch. As I headed to the cafeteria, I started to recognize more and more people and noticed how much everyone had changed. The cafeteria was full of noise and everyone seemed to have someone to sit with and somewhere to sit.

Worry set in as I walked into a random lunch line. I quickly looked around in hopes of finally finding a friend, without knowing that there was one right in front of me. Just from the back of her head, I remembered who she was and where I’ve seen her.

Geneva Johnson went to the same middle school as me. We’d talk occasionally, so I figured it was now or never to get to know her. I tapped her on the shoulder and watched as she turned around. 

It took her a moment, but soon a smile formed on her face as she collected her memories. We ended up talking to each other, and even went as far as sitting with one another for the first couple of weeks of school. Eventually, we reunited with a friend we both knew, Isabel Venegas. 

In Isabel’s group sat a girl named Dannika Melendez Mateo. She would usually keep to herself and didn’t talk much, but the sense of humor Geneva and I have really helped with opening her up. All three of us hit it off really well, and eventually we decided to split from Isabel’s group and move to the table right in front of them. 

For a good duration of the year, it was just us three sitting at the table across from our previous group until we finally recruited our last friend Nathalie Rangel. Geneva and Dannika knew her because she was in their P.E. class and I knew her because she was in my Biology class.

We each individually knew her because of different circumstances, so I came up with an idea. It was towards the end of the year when I finally suggested that Nathalie should come sit with us for lunch because I had seen her sitting alone once while going to the bathroom during FLEX. Geneva and Dannika were more than okay with it so I talked to Nathalie about it and eventually she sat with us too. 

For the remainder of the year the four of us made jokes and had fun, talking and growing closer each day. To this day we are still friends with each other and sit at the same table from where we began freshman year. 

My friends are amazing and nice, and are able to make me laugh all my worries away. Looking into the future, I just don’t think I’ll come across a batch of friends better than the ones I have now, and I’m forever grateful to have them with me through thick and thin.