By: Rachel Liao

Memorable. Fun. Sorrowful. I couldn’t seem to think of any other word at the top of my head.

It’s crazy how quickly the time elapsed between starting school in the beginning of September –to now getting ready for the middle school graduation ceremony taking place tomorrow. This means getting ready to say goodbye to friends who are moving or going to a different school.

I can’t bring myself to say these goodbyes. I can’t let go; I don’t want to move on. I don’t want to forget all the memories that I’ve made with my friends since our first encounters in elementary school.

Even today, I still remember the fun events we have hosted like they occurred just yesterday. Looking back at them makes me plead to go back in time just to relive those moments.

It was in seventh grade when I met my entire friend group. We officialized our friendship by making a big group chat.

It all started during the month of December or January, when the teachers first announced the code to join the classroom for Science League. There were approximately 25 people. Although we were attending virtual classes so we couldn’t see each other in person because of the pandemic, this barrier did not stop a certain number of us from creating a giant group hangout for all the members.

As expected, not everybody was interested. One by one, they started leaving, although several did text a few messages before departing. There was always one of us that constantly attempted to bring all of them back, but those efforts always failed. In the end, we were left with eight people in the group chat, and that’s where my friendship story started.

Our introduction was quite awkward. We completed the first “step,” which was to first say hello and introduce ourselves to everybody. That seemed regular. However, the next action somebody decided to take was to change the group chat name, and then replacing the original font with a fancier one. That was the first few hours of our life together.

Fast forward through the first few months of our relationship and several conflicts occurred, mostly for amusing purposes. We had disputes about “rules” of the group, which did not last long. This was because we were friends with that hadn’t laid boundaries. We talked about what designs to put on the Google Slides for friends’ birthdays, who was better at playing which instrument, you name it. Regardless of what has happened, our friendship was inseparable, like a pin superglued to a wall. We liked to see ourselves as a picture glued onto the wall. The pin is the group chat that brought us together, and the picture is what we made of it.

Over the three months of break, the group chat was mostly “dead.” Most people were inactive, although occasionally having a conversation with us, nonetheless. Contrary to popular belief, that was not the end of our relationships with each other. Eventhough, I expected some friends to make new relationships next year, I was not surprised that our original group stayed close.

Out of all honesty, during the last few days or weeks before the start of eighth grade, none of us felt like we were ready. We were terrified of everything, new teachers, the in-person schedule, our materials, and classes. We ranted on and on about how everything would turn out worse than expected. We were being pessimistic, as a joke.

Then, the dreaded arrived at last – the last year of middle school, eighth grade. All our friends were awkwardly silent, even in the loudest classes that we had.

Typical friends being friends, during the beginning of the next school year, our first instinct was to find each other. In other words, we tried to find friends that we’ve never met in person before. Meanwhile, making new friends whilst keeping old ones was our definite goal.

After becoming friends, our group also became smarter, wiser, and our bonds with each other grew stronger over the next few months. Although we have noticed many changes in each other, our habits from last year never grew old. We made jokes that certain people would deny, and occasionally hung out with each other after school to play “family friendly games.”

Even though I am young, I would say eighth grade has been the best year for me. Regardless of my not-so-perfect average in one class, and the embarrassing situations that happened to both my friends and me. It seems like most of us are not ready for high school. This new phase will have more assignments and finals, which will require an adjustment. Either way, my friends and I hope that we can remain close over the years, despite the inevitable physical separation.