I was hesitant to join the #weekend-engagement post because, to be honest, I am running out of words to say. When I looked at the topics and saw that one of those is about telling a story about my best friend, words and ideas just came running out of my mind.
So who is this best friend? Let me share some of his attributes first.
He is ambitious in his dreams, but he easily gets discouraged. He has a strong heart, but he is weak when it comes to his family. He is wise, but careless when making decisions. He is funny and makes jokes all the time, but he is just tired and masking up his struggles. He is resilient but to be honest, he is on the verge of breaking. He is talented and he cooks really well. His name is Gabriel Nikko, born on February 14 (Yep, his birthday is almost here) and he is my best friend, and through all his shortcomings, I accepted him as a permanent part of my life.
We have known each other for more than a decade. We are childhood best friends. I am one year older than him, but we experienced life together. A little fun fact, his mother and my mother are also best friends and I guess we automatically became best of friends.
When his mother suffered blindness 8 years ago, he still continued to live and enjoyed his life as a teenager should. Maybe, the situation was still not sinking in. He was 15 back then. We enjoyed our teenage years. We joined dance contests, we partied our way through life and we never really cared about life much then. Occasionally, he would rant about his life and his family, and I would be there to give my full ears. I try my best to give advice but he would only nod, but not in agreement. He nods to inform me that he heard me, but he will not follow. I would always reprimand him because he is stubborn and he never listens. He would then change the subject and talk about something else. I would only shake my head and proceed to talk about another topic. We were always like that.
Fast forward to 2014, we were both in college. He was in his first year studying Hotel & Restaurant Management in the province, while I was in my second year studying Business Management in the city. He never finished a year in college because of his financial situation. Instead of just giving up, he was determined. Although he was questioning life and blaming whoever he can point his finger to, that did not stop him.
The year 2015 when he decided to get a job. He gave up his education to support his family financially. I was there when he struggled to apply for a job fully knowing that he did not finish one year in college. Employers were rejecting him, but he persevered and kept going. Thankfully, after so many failed attempts, he got a job as a beauty analyst in one of the local brands here in the Philippines. We were both so happy. Unfortunately, he decided to stop and look for another opportunity. He was never satisfied, he wanted more. He landed 3 jobs before he stopped looking for “more”. Currently, he is working as an ESL teacher for a private company. I could say that he is now at peace with himself because now he listens to the advice of his friends. Still, from time to time he is questioning his abilities and skills to do more, I do not stop him from chasing bigger opportunities that would benefit him. After all, he is ambitious and determined. And he deserves the best.
Out of all the experiences we had, my most unforgettable one was when I celebrated my 18th birthday. I don’t like celebrating it big. I want to keep it simple and private, but he convinced me otherwise. He was the one who planned my birthday. He accompanied me in looking for a simple dress that I could wear (I wanted to wear jeans and a white shirt). He went looking for souvenirs and tokens that we can give to the guests. He did the simple decorations and he did my make-up (I looked awesome that day). For that, I am forever thankful because it turned out to be the best birthday I’ve had so far.
Fast forward to today, we upgraded our status from best friends to ultimate roommates. Although it's only temporary, I am overly joyed. I also had a realization while writing this. Some friends are only friends because of convenience. When one of you encounters a hardship or if you are no longer useful to them, they will abandon you. Some may betray you, but this one is as strong as a metal. I remember a quote from Karen Salmonsohn,
"If you wanna find out who’s a true friend, screw up, and go through a challenging time… then see who sticks around."
When everyone turned their back on me, he stayed by my side. He believed in me when others were questioning me.
So if you have friends who still remained by your side under all circumstances, treasure them. It is not every day that you get to be blessed with real people.
Before I end this, I want to leave him a short message.
To you my dearest friend,
I’ll be with you in rough and smooth rides, in sad and happy moments, in dark and bright days, and in failure and success. I may not say this often, but I am truly lucky to have you as my best friend. I may not express it too much because I have a strong personality, but I appreciate your existence. Let’s shine together because you got me and I got you, forever.
With so much love for you,
Klaire.
Thank you for reading. Stay awesome!