I was never one of the popular kids in middle school. I was a social outcast for most of my life and I had only a handful of people that I can genuinely call my friends. We were all close but when we all graduated middle school, we all went to separate high schools and we haven’t spoken to each other much since.

My sister and I both attended the same high school; she was the only person I recognized in the new hallways. But while I was the quiet, reserved nerd in middle school, my sister Britany was the cool, popular girl that everyone was friends with. Being so social, my sister made many friends and during our walk to the train station, she would bring all of her new friends along. We all bonded, hung out and and they were able to crack open the shell I imposed on myself in middle and elementary school. To this day, they are my closest friends.

In this group, we have Evelyn. We share similar tastes in music and in being outcasts of sorts. We both had our first period geometry class together and we’ve especially grown close together. Likewise with Esther; we bonded through our shared Mexican culture and sense of humor. We also share birthdays which we like to celebrate together! Bryan is probably the first friend I made myself who was then integrated into the group. We met when I said something in Spanish and he responded in Spanish. We shared many interests together and we like to ask each other for advice. I met Jaylene specifically through Britany and Evelyn, and the theme throughout our friendship is her pushing me around and bullying me. There is also Alfonso. He’s the comedian of the group who always finds something witty to say. Next, we have Rubaiya; she’s the goody-two shoes of the group and is also constantly being teased on. We also have Nya. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t like Nya at first; she was very loud and seemed kind of annoying, but she has a very energetic personality that I grew to love as I began to open up socially.  Our newest addition to our crew is Ty, who’s an all-around great guy who you can hang out with and have a laugh.

It’s not the biggest group in terms of numbers, but these guys have made a very positive impact on my life. Everyone was just a young 9th grader who were starting to navigate through life and we were there to support each other along the way. Personally, they helped get through social anxiety and they let me be myself which is something I don’t think I’ve been able to do with other people. I love being with these guys and acting like idiots for a couple of hours. Thankfully, even though we have all chosen different paths of life, we still see and talk to each other regularly. We’ve gone through many things good and bad together and I can genuinely say that they are like a second family to me.