It was biology, freshman year. The class was told that we had to do the Science Fair, and that it counted as a rather large portion of our 3rd quarter grade. As soon as our teacher said the words “You make work alone or with a partner” everybody began frantically looking around the room, making eye contact with their friends. Working in a partnership for a project this big would definitely be ideal. I just kept my head down, knowing I wasn’t close with anyone in my Biology class. The teacher continued to explain the details of the project and all of the requirements we had to meet. As she droned on and on, I started to tune her out. I began to think about who I would work with and what we would do a project on. Before I knew it, class was over and we were packing up our things. I knew the project wouldn’t be due for a couple months, but to say I was feeling stressed is an understatement. There’s no way I can do this by myself, I thought, But who would my partner be?
Next period I had lunch, and I walked there with Jill, who I guess you could say was somewhat of an acquaintance of mine. I knew her from elementary school but she and I weren’t too fond of one another. I remember our mutual friend would have these pool parties and a bunch of girls would all go. It became a regular thing to host dance competitions. We would split into teams (I was always a judge, knowing all too well that my dance moves were far too advanced for these types of occasions), and each team would come up a routine. In the end, the judges would be forced to choose a winner and there would always be so much fighting. I guess I just associated Jill with those frustrating memories, and never really thought of her as having changed since 5th grade.
We started talking about Science Fair, and how stressful the whole process was going to be. Being in an honors class, grades were at the top of most student’s priority list. She then asked me who my partner was.
“I don’t have one yet,” I replied “But I feel like the project would be a million times easier with one.” Jill laughed and replied rather quickly.
“I’ll be your partner! I don’t have one yet either.” I was so ecstatic! It felt as though a humongous weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
This isn’t the story about our Science Fair project, or the grade we received. This is the story of how Jill Drevin became one of my closest friends. Those long hours spent studying and putting together our first science project of our high school career allowed us to get to know one another extremely well. We both share the same, somewhat annoying characteristic of getting off topic at times. But to be fair, it is necessary to take breaks from projects to prevent yourself from going insane. It is evident today that our current friendship is in no way based off school work or science projects, and I’m still not sure how or why we became such good friends. But ever since that project, we have been growing closer each and every day.
Everybody has somebody they consider their best friend. In highschool, its practically necessary to have one in order to just get through the day. You need someone to talk to about random things in your life, someone to hang out with, and someone who can relate to you when no one else can. Jill is that someone for me. I can’t even remember the 5th grade version of Jill anymore because our friendship since freshman year has been, and always will be, perfect. That doesn't mean we don't argue at times, it just means that even if we do argue or disagree on something, we get over it quickly and become even closer. Our arguments are so short anyways because there is always something else we are dying to tell one another.
We have even come to subconsciously establish indicators of each other’s moods. For example, when texting, the way one of us spells the word “Okay” means a lot when it comes to how we are feeling. If I were to spell it like “Ok” or even to go as far as “K”, Jill would know right off the bat that I am angry or upset with something. If it were to be spelled like “Okey” (our invented spelling of the word), then everything is happy and good between us. This sounds ridiculous, but its one of the things that makes our friendship so unique.
Furthermore, our relationship just works. We like the same things, hate the same things, and can tell what the other is thinking without exchanging any words. It is crazy how alike we are. Our personalities are almost identical. We relate to each other so well and there is no judgement coming from either one of us. We can be our complete selves around one another.
Without our friendship, I don't know how either of us would have made it past freshman year. We can be weird and serious all at once. We tell eachother everything. And by everything, I mean there are literally no secrets. She tells me pointless stories about random conversations she’s had all the time, and I love hearing them. We are each other's got-to girls, always giving advice to one another on everything. I feel like our friendship is so different from others. Jill and I have the craziest memories, and can always have fun hanging out even if we’re not doing anything. Friendship is so important, especially for teenage girls. Jill will always be there for me and I trust her with anything and everything. I always think to myself, What if we had never been science partners? Looking back, I believe we would of have become friends anyway, just because we are that much alike.
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