Victor Jeong, Co-Editor-In-Chief

In middle school, friendships are “more based around ideas like, ‘do I like you?’ or ‘I hope that person likes me’,” commented Angela. “High school is a much different story.”

Fitting in is something that everyone must inevitably go through in high school. An at times daunting task, finding refuge amongst each other has helped form an unwavering bond between Angela Park, Kate Cho, Diane Jung and Toni Choi. A bond formed through their adventures in athletics. “Friendships in high school define how your friendships will be in the future,” reflected Angela, “because high school is where you find out how to make real friends… who will be there for you when you need them.”

For the four senior girls, their link was not only strong, but one with deep roots. Diane, Toni and Angela became acquainted in their eighth-grade year, eventually welcoming Kate at the dawn of their freshman year. However, not everyone was close from the beginning. “At first I was really close with Diane in middle school… I met Angela [through Diane],” recalled Toni.

Although at first fragile, the friendship between the group found itself tempered through the experience of sports; the experience of being teammates would eventually glue the friends together. “Through the sports activities and playing volleyball, I got to know her [Angela] a lot better and get closer to her,” recalled Diane.

“For the first month [of freshman year], I wasn’t really close to them, but once volleyball season started… we kinda got really close and it was a group,” noted Kate.

“What made us close was sports,” agreed Toni.

Once formed, the bond between the girls became a natural and warm one. “In volleyball season, I got to know them… and when basketball season came around it was the same thing,” mentioned Kate, “throughout the year that bond stuck, even going on to the next year.”

“Being in a team environment, we had to learn how to work together and understand each other. Looking at my sports career, our teams had good teamwork because of the friendship we had,” recalled Diane.

Even though their link started in sports, it quickly branched out to all aspects of close friendship. “The people I spent the most time with at school became them, and we did all sorts of things [together],” explained Kate. They found themselves exploring their high school life through “sharing secrets” and enjoying their teenage years.

However, with graduation looming on the horizon, the idea of losing touch was one that all of the girls had to come to face with. With Kate and Angela heading to the west coast, Diane heading to Canada and Toni heading to the east coast, separation seemed imminent. “I’m going to miss the memories I’ve made with them. Not only in classes, but in all the sports and activities we’ve done together,” admitted Toni.

Diane also explained the poignant situation. “I’m definitely sad that I have to move on and make new friends in other schools. My whole high school life was dependent around them [Kate, Toni and Angela]. It’s not easy to make bonds like this… we were able to relate to and understand each other and that made it special.”

Although feelings of sadness surrounded the graduation, there was room for optimism as well. Optimism for a brighter future. “It’s saddening… but in a sense I think I’m happy for all of us, in that we’re kinda taking a step into the bigger world. That step reflects what we’ve accomplished in the last four years,” said Kate.

The notion of longevity was one shared by all the girls. “I think we’re pretty special… No matter how cheesy it sounds, I think we’ve made everlasting bonds that we’ll remember for the rest of our lives,” reflected Angela.

“We’re like a family, because of our relationship. I’m not really scared that we’ll lose touch,” affirmed Kate.

Above all, their bond transcended physical separation. The experience of many years would not easily break. “Although it started with sports, it’s more than that. It’s a bond that’s in us, and that will stay with us,” stated Angela. “We can come back one day and share the memories one day, and reconnect.”

In the end, the experiences that the girls shared seemed

undying. Their experiences in sports and the blossoming friendship that followed serving as a catalyst for healthy fun and memorable silliness. But more than anything, the relationship between the girls helped them to grow as individuals while coming closer together.

“I think the friendships I’ve made here will definitely affect the friendships I make in the future, because I definitely want friends like the ones I have now,” concluded Angela.

Years unforgettable. A bond unbreakable.