1. Back in high school I had the honor of making the acquaintance of a young lady who had a very big affect on my life. For the sake of maintaining her anonymity I’ll refer to her as Nancy. I first met her at the high school orientation for the International Baccalaureate (IB) ceremony. That was the first year the IB program was offered in that high school. Though very difficult, the program offered near guaranteed admittance into any state college in the country and a large scholarship to those who could complete it. Being naturally shy, I was a little nervous during the orientation. Nancy walked right up and introduced herself to me, smiling all the while. She told me how excited she was entering the program and asked me questions about where I came from and what I thought of the high school we would be attending. We became immediate friends. From that point we worked together all the time in class and extracurricular activities. She was always the more brilliant of the two of us. Though some people considered her a geek for it, I was always amazed at her intellectual abilities. She was first in the class for every math and science related subject, she even went so far as to tutor our physics teacher. She made it the national level science fair for her project in astrophysics, which elaborated on Hawking’s theory of how the universe existed in a cycle of expansion and contraction. I always envied her a little for how the subjects we studied seemed to come to her so naturally. But she never held it over any of her classmates; she always took time to help those who had trouble grasping a subject. Without her help I never would’ve made it through the program, and never received the scholarships that allow me to attend UCF now. That’s why it allows pains me to remember the manner in which we parted ways. It was our senior year, and though we spent a lot of time together in class or in required extracurricular functions, I had never really seen her away from the school. One Saturday I was bored and called her up, wanting to know if she would go with me to a movie. Her response dumbfounded me. She said, “I really don’t want to pursue a relationship right now, we’re almost ready to graduate. That’s just not important to me right now”. Then she hung up the phone. After then she would never come near me or even look in my direction. At the time I didn’t understand what was wrong. We graduated shortly afterward and I didn’t see her for a couple of years. In that time it dawned on me that I had crossed a line that I couldn’t uncross. She thought I was asking her out on a date, when that was not my intention at all. No matter how I could try to explain the mistake, the fact is she no longer thought of me as a friend, but as something entirely different. There was no going back, even though it had been a simple misunderstanding. I lost the best friend I ever had. PS. Though this has nothing to do with the topic, I can’t help but adding that I saw her once a few years later. I was working in retail for a summer job between semesters and she walked by. She saw me and, smiling, she came over to me and said hi. We exchanged a few pleasantries before she introduced me to her fiance. Since I never thought of her that way I wasn’t hurt. But I was confused, she seemed so different. The energy she had that was her driving force and such an integral part of her personality was gone. I asked her how she was doing in college, assuming that she was doing quite well being immersed in an environment she seemed so well matched for. I was stunned to hear that she had not gone to college at all. I didn’t ask her why, as it seemed too impolite, but it’s always stumped me since then. She had no less than six scholarships lined up, as well as an invitation to MIT. What on earth could’ve made her back down from what she wanted so badly in high school? I guess I’ll never see her again, or find out what happened. I can’t help but wonder, if only I had been there, she might’ve decided to do things differently. 2. In a perfect world I would’ve been more perceptive, and realized how easily my offer could’ve been misconstrued. She would’ve understood that, like her, I had no interest in romantic involvement. There would’ve been no miscommunication and I would still be proud to consider her a friend to this very day. 3. I learned how easily men and women can miscommunicate. Though it is nobody’s fault, when certain things are said they can never be changed or forgotten. For example, that the mere suggestion of wanting to be more than just friends can destroy such an important relationship. I can count the number of friends I’ve had in my life on the hand of a near-sighted lumberjack. And I lament the fact that the price of my lesson was Nancy’s friendship. John Albers jragebellsouth.net

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