I believe in the power of friendship.
It was late August 2003 and I was about to walk into my new school for the first time. Classes had not started yet but I was on my way to volleyball practice. I walked into the aged, tiny Catholic school gym to a ton of parents hanging the net. My mom told me I should find my coach and introduce myself. I thought she was crazy. How am I suppose to know who my coach is? I was new here. I was so nervous.
The whole practice was a blur of faces I didn’t know and the sport I wasn’t very good at but loved. All I remember from that practice was meeting two girls; Jenn and Nicole.
Little did I know, Nik would become my best friend for a long time to come.
Nicole and I have been through everything. We both lost grandparents, and both supported each other through that. We have both stood up to jerky high school guys in light of the other. In high school, we fought for a few months straight. Looking back, I really have no idea why we fought, I just know it made us stronger. We have always been there to answer each others calls, whether it be late at night or early in the morning.
I think one of the biggest reasons we are close is because we have God in our friendship. We both don’t often talk about our beliefs, but for some reason, we can with each other. Without Nicole, I would have never gone to Steubenville. Steubenville was a Catholic youth retreat for high school students. I went twice with Nik and our youth group. I went to Catholic school for nine years before I left for public high school (for proximity reasons). During this retreat, I became closer to God than I had ever been before, even with close to decade in Catholic school. I learned a lot about myself and we learned a lot about our friendship.
As I try to pinpoint my favorite memories with Nicole, I can’t. We have too many. It doesn’t matter how long we were away from each other, when we get home on break, we laugh like the little school girls we were when we met. Her family has become mine and mine has become hers.
This is where I look up to Nicole more than anyone I have ever met. Both of us come from big, loving Italian families. We both adore our families and especially our parents and siblings.
The summer after my freshman year of college, I was sitting in my car with Nik. My two best friends were also with us. We were about to go bowling but Nik had something to say. That summer had been the 10 year anniversary of her mom beating breast cancer … it was also the summer they discovered that it came back.
I cannot remember all of the details that she told us that night in the car. There are a few things I do remember. For one, I remember the courage it took for her to talk about what was going on. You could see that she was trying to not being scared and working on accepting what God was throwing her way. I also remember after we had all dried our eyes and talked a little, she knew there was nothing she could do about it right now. We went midnight bowling, made funny names and danced around, just the four of us, but having enough fun for everyone in the alley. She has always been good at accepting what she cannot change.
Nicole’s mom is still fighting her cancer. Some days look better than others. There are so many things about my best friend that make me unbelievably proud of her. First, she has never said to me “but why me?” in the hardships she has endured. From what I’ve seen, she’s humbly bowed her head and accepted it. With that, she has an uncanny trust in God that I wish I had held onto as tightly as she has in my hardships. Most of all, when she is dealing with real problems, like the possibility of losing the most important woman in her life, she always finds time to worry about others and even me.
I was really stuck on what I should write about. What do I believe in? That’s a hard question. I try to be optimistic, so I would say I believe in a lot. Nicole tweeted back at me and joked that I should write about her. I saw her tweet and laughed because she is who I believe in. I am blessed to have a best friend as caring, level-headed, loyal, faithful, beautiful and fun-loving as her. Nik is a year younger than me and sometimes I feel like she is more wise than I will ever be. I cannot list the amount of things that Nicole has coached me through. Her friendship has gotten me through a lot. I truly hope that everyone is lucky enough to have someone like Nicole in their lives looking out for them.
I guess I should mention another part of that volleyball season that was significant. At my first volleyball game that year, Nicole’s mom walked over to me and asked where my parents were. I came to find out Nicole’s mom and my mom were best friends in grade school and lost contact shortly after high school. No matter what, we were bound to be friends; it was in our blood. I know that without a shadow of a doubt.
I believe in my best friend, Nicole and the power of our friendship.