CandyMag.Com

Last Saturday, my high school barkada got together for a spontaneous reunion. During lunch, it hit me that we all became friends as high school freshmen. Of the five of us, I’m the only one left in school (hey, I’ve only one sem left, anyway!), which means we’ve all been friends for eight years and counting! Wow!

Here we are in high school, circa 2003: (L to R) Kit, me, Chico, Agnes and Tricia. (Our tambayan was right beside a huge garbage can! We got used to the smell. Haha!)

Our last group get-together was in December 2006! It was a despedida of sorts, since I was leaving to study for a while in Singapore.

And here we are now, already in our twenties! Hihi! (Reunion photos from Tricia Aguila)

Chico and I are still BFFs after all these years, and the same goes for Kit and Tricia. Agnes, the baby of the group, is now working in the US! She was with us through YM. Haha!

While waiting for lunch, we played the game of LIFE, which we never finished because at the dining table we ended up just talking and talking! But it was fun to play, although, let me just say, I don’t think it’s the best game to play when you’re a bunch of fresh graduates just entering the so-called real world. Haha!

As Tricia pointed out in her blog, it was pretty clear how we’ve all changed, in that we’ve matured (hopefully!), we’ve gotten a stronger grasp of what we all want to do with our lives, and we’ve grown in our perspectives. Still, we were all pretty much the same people—just older and wiser. Most importantly, our friendships have remained the same. Sure, we’ve all met new people since high school. We’ve gotten new barkadas in college, too. But your high school friends are your high school friends—for life.

I have this theory, that there’s something about high school friendships, something that makes them lasting, in that even if you’re no longer as close to one another as before, they’re still going to be important figures in your life. I think it’s because of how these people have seen you through the most awkward, most uncertain period in your life—adolescence, what else?—how they’ve seen you at your best and at your worst, how they know your history, who you were and where you came from, and how they can reconcile that with who you become later on in life. High school friendships are special, in that way and more.

I’m happy to have seen my high school barkada again, after a long time! Then again, ours is the kind of relationship that doesn’t need frequent get-togethers. We’re friends and we know that, and we know it will stay that way. These girls are my girls for life!

Hope you Candy girls will also keep in touch with old friends! Share stories of your recent reunions!

Looking forward to more reunions with various friends,
Micah

P.S.
Happy 19th to my college girlfriend Lau! All my best, sweetie!