Tag: friendship

Friends Who Last Forever

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

There are different types of friends, as many of you probably know. Last year, I was friends with someone who I expected to be close with for years to come. This year, we have barely talked. When I confronted her about this, she said she just didn’t care to.

It was at this point that I realized that some people, even if you might be close to them, aren’t going to stick around through everything. Looking back, I can see how she would cut me down and embarrass me in public, or make me feel bad about something. That’s not a true friend.

This year, I have been lucky to find someone who I know will stick around. Every day at lunch, we have our lunch date, almost without fail. We talk about everything that comes to mind, from boys and friends to food and sports.

She boosts my self-confidence by threatening to no longer talk to me, which of course has changed my thought process tremendously since the beginning of the year finally found my best friend.

Friends Down the Drain

backinphilly1 Comment

I don’t even know what to say anymore. I’m at a loss for words at this point. Always tryin’ to keep up with everyone else just gets so tiring now and I’m just sick and tired of everything. I don’t care about them anymore since it seems that they don’t really care about me. I’m not sure how much it really matters.

I try to channel the belief of the Honey Badger. The belief that nothing affects me is a lot to take. It’s a huge responsibility.

I’m up to it. I want to not care anymore. But not caring is different than being ignorant. It’s just what I do. It’s me.

I want to be able to persevere through anything that may stand in my way. Any obstacle must become invisible. Nothing can stop me. Yet, emotion always seems to drive me backwards. I don’t understand the struggle of keeping momentum going.

It sucks to lose people because of who you are. It’s inevitable but it sucks. My mentality suits me. It doesn’t always suit those around me. Unfortunately, I can’t change what I know to be me.

Read More »

Souls from Southeast Asia – Pee Sai

theycallmedameLeave a comment


His name is Pee Sai.
He is 23-years-old.
He is my friend.

Pee Sai speaks very little English, and I speak absolutely no Burmese, but the language barrier is not detrimental towards our friendship.  I don’t need to speak his language to know that Pee Sai is hilarious, kind, and worrysome.  He does not need to speak my language to know how well we get along.

When I first met Pee Sai, I had just crossed the Burmese-Thai border after sitting between the two countries in horrendous heat for an hour.  I was sweaty, irritated, and was suffering from one of my headaches; he was shy, not speaking to anyone as we found our way to the bus that would take us throughout Burma.

I officially met Pee Sai outside of a school in the Burmese mountains.  I was asked to grab my ukulele from the bus so our group could sing a song for the schoolchildren, and Pee Sai was asked to escort me.

“Hello, I am Pee Sai, what is your name?”
“Hi, I’m Aria!”

When I tried to converse further, I realized how those few words were some of the only English words Pee Sai knew.  After we discovered this hurdle, we communicated through outrageous gestures, silly faces, and universal sounds of approval, disapproval, annoyance, and happiness.

Pee Sai would seem to be, to most of anyone, a shy but friendly face; a man who has lived a relatively easy life and recognizes that.

Pee Sai has not lived such a life.Read More »

My Best Friend

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

At the age of two, my parents took me to visit my aunt and uncle at their ranch in Montana. We were sitting on the lawn waiting for them to arrive, and I got up and walked into the pasture. Instead of jumping up to save me, my parents decided to stay put and see what would happen.

I eventually began learning to ride, first in a western saddle at Bar 20 Ranch in Montana, but once we moved to London for two years I switched to an English saddle. It’s been 12 years now, and I’ve gone from barely being able to sit on a horse to jumping 3’9″ fences.

I got my first pony when I was eight, and it was the horse I’d been riding for two or three years at the time. I woke up Christmas morning, at the crack of dawn to the disappointment of my parents, and we opened the presents under the tree. Then my mom suggested we go to the barn to give Razz, the horse, some Christmas carrots. When we got there, my trainer led her out of her stall. She had a red bow stuck to her forehead and streamers around her neck. She was my Christmas present.

I rode Razz until she was too old to continue competing, and then we retired her to my aunt and uncle’s ranch. From there came a couple other ponies, all of whom I loved dearly but outgrew quickly. And then finally I graduated to a horse, Time.

Read More »

Mis amigas, Te amo.

moustachulousLeave a comment

Five years of summer camp and four years of school at OVS, you make tons of friends. The great thing is that since OVS is so much fun, most people will come back and you get to see them again and again. Even when they leave, they have an impact in your life and you never forget them. I have had so many friends over the years, but the ones that have stuck with me at OVS until the end are the ones I am closet to.

If you know me, than obviously you would have to know Ali, my best friend. I have known her for 5 years and we actually met at summer camp. To be honest, I didn’t like her that much at first. Then 8th grade year, we just kind of connected and ever since then we have been inseparable. We have had our fights of course, but we just can’t be apart. As she says, “Jenna, you are my brain.” We always make jokes about how we know what the other is thinking. Some people don’t like Ali, but I don’t care. Honestly, if anyone ever tries to say anything bad about my best friend or hurts her, they might end up with a black eye. Or maybe some spiders/lizards in their bed. Just saying. Anyways, she is the greatest and funniest person ever. I can never get tired of her sense of humor.
Read More »

See you soon.

eternity10302 Comments

“I will miss you so much. Take care and love ya.”

Here I am, sitting on this particular rock, the place we used to share together, and enjoying the last piece of sunshine of the day. I cried.

Stepped into my room – 105, my brand new junior life started. I smelled your lotion, and then laughed as we used to do. Then I played that song which we used to sing along to together. I miss you, my roommate.

“Good morning everyone!” “Good morning…!” No more exaggerated but joyful laughter as the beginning of a canty day. I miss you, my sweet Serry.

“I want you, you and you to run four miles while everybody else go for Backgate please.” I joined crosscountry team this year, but you left. We miss you, our best runner Reika.

“What’s for breakfast today?” “Your favorite Waffle!” I’ve been used to sitting here, the seat next to you, but not you anymore. No one will get the meal for me and then wait with a tender smile before I get there. I miss you, my superman.

The things are still there, but men are no more the same ones. The days we spent together are only for once, however, even though we try to hold it as tightly as we can. Memories will never vanish.

Win a few, lose a few. That’s life.

“I hope this gives you power, bravery, and warmness. And I’ll see you soon.”

Here I am, running through this particular forest, the place we used to strive together, and greeting the first streak of amber moonlight. I smiled.

Yes, I’ll see you soon.

Sandy Friends and Smiley Beaches.

yrreskrapLeave a comment

This weekend was so good.

Yesterday, I got off campus with my best friends to go shopping in Santa Barbara. I mean, what could go wrong there? Four girls on State Street, a beautiful sunny day in California, shopping. It was fantastic.

We ended up eating at Pascucci’s for dinner. Although I was never a big fan of the restaurant because I believe the food is incredibly bland, I nevertheless had an amazing time with my girls, all of whom I will miss so so so much after June 8th of this year…

Today, the girls headed out to the beach.

The day was beautiful and we made so many memories under the sun. Sand was everywhere and we strutted around in our bright bikinis, showing off our fabulous shorts tans we all accumulated from sports.

Anyways, although I am super happy, I am growing scared because of how close graduation is. 60 more days! And then we all part our different ways and walk the rest of the paths we were on.

All I can say is that I feel incredibly blessed to have crossed paths with such wonderful girls. I know I will never forget them and that we will always, ALWAYS stay best friends, wherever we are on this Earth.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes with a Side of kirbyfullyloaded.

yrreskrap2 Comments

So my wish came true!

I was able to go to the beach with an amazing friend of mine, Emmy (kirbyfullyloaded).

It was nice being able to be away from the dorms.It felt like the first time in a long time since I had been away from school related things.

Emmy’s mom is amazing. She made us breakfast everyday. In fact, this morning she made us chocolate chip pancakes and we ate them watching the high tide with the early sun.

Chocolate. Sun. Sand. Ocean. What else could a girl ask for??

Anyways, after breakfast, we both changed from our pajamas into our bathing suits (although it probably wasn’t the best idea considering my massive food baby) and ran to tan on the deck of her house. We listened to Maroon 5 together and made plans for our next weekend date! Hopefully we will be able to surf and bake a bunch of fattening goodies.

Weekends like this really let me value my friends and realize importance of spending time with good people.
Being able to stay up late with Emmy, snacking on random cookies, seaweed, and digestive wheat crackers (trust me, they taste absolutely amazing), just to keep us awake while we talked all night until the early hours of the morning was great.
Painting our nails for hours, singing along to music, critiquing singers for foibles in their voices, and not being able to wake up from staying up so late…priceless.

It lets me step back and realize how blessed I am with my friends.

Thank you Emmy for letting me stay at your house this weekend.

You are an amazing girl. Never change.

Fat Sundays with Tom Cruise

yrreskrap2 Comments

Huddled together.

Light cutting the darkness like blades

through the spaces between the blinds.

Our heads come closer to the screen,

our limbs intertwined.

A mess of blankets and

the overwhelming scent of Chinese food.

Golden Moon did it again.

Our stomachs are aching

but, we don’t mind.

Tom Cruise is almost dead,

Julia with a gun in her hand.

HE’S ALIVE!

We all let out a sigh of relief,

our hands let go of each others.

This is a good Sunday afternoon.

Surrounded by my friends,

just being fat and lazy.

I am so happy.

This is happiness.

“Friendship is a special kind of love.”

Taking things for granted

rangerthecatLeave a comment

People take others for granted much too often in their lives.

I have been a culprit of it one too many times. And it is a hard thing to come to terms with.

I wish people would realize that there is no harm in telling someone you care each and every day, but there is more harm than imaginable in doing the exact opposite. There isn’t a time you will regret letting someone know that you appreciate them – no matter who they are to you – but there will always be a time you will regret holding your tongue when all you wanted was to let them know you cared.

It was your 21st birthday on Monday. And, even though I was not as close with you as some people were, I wish I could have wished you happy birthday, seen your smile, and spent a little time with you. I cared about you. You were important to me. And I will regret not telling you that for the rest of my life because I will never have the chance to tell you that again.

Happy birthday, Mikey. I know that if you were here, you would take absolutely no person and nothing else for granted; you weren’t the kind to do that. And if I am to take just one thing from knowing you, I will take that.

I hope everything is going well in paradise. I think of you more than you know.