Chido Murambiwa, Grade 11
UWC Waterford Kamhlaba
Seventh grade was when I met my best friend. I had transitioned from a pretty horrible relationship with a friend and was constantly feeling jittery about how I made others feel. I wasn’t expecting to meet her or even be friends. I had been talking about what I ate and I remember her laughing at everything I said as if it were the most hilarious thing she’d ever heard.
I began integrating into her group and her friends made me feel safe and wanted. As a kid being made to feel unwanted or undeserving really gets to. But they made me feel and showed me that the energies I felt about being unwelcome weren’t imaginary. I grew closer to her and surprisingly we connected through our religions. Although I am Christian and she was Muslim we were able to explore our different beliefs and interests through our different faiths. I learnt a bit of Urdu through her and taught her Shona.
The time where we spent the most time together was the term before I came to high school. If I could jump into the past I’d probably go to the school trip we had after the exams. It was right after the national exams and we were all exhausted from studying all year. The academic requirements of zimbabwe are rigorous so we were pretty burnt out by the end of it. I didn’t really realize how much my friends cared for me. They were understanding and kind. Every time they heard something out of pocket they would shut them down immediately. I believe they were the first feminists I met. I also believe we were the sneakiest people on that trip. To them, which they taught me, you can have the freedom to be whoever you want to be and growing up is hard.
The trip was awful and this was in seventh grade so you’d best believe that someone had split something on the seats and there was snot on someone’s hair. I wasn’t mentally there at the beginning but they would always say a joke or two to lift up each other's spirits. I had joined a group of friends that was kind to me and extremely protective of each other. The area we were staying in was beautiful and definitely not a classroom packed with past exam papers. To say we were brutal with each other would be an understatement the teasing was extreme but it was never targeted or purposefully mean. It was like those little miss… jokes. Even so, the entire trip I was scared to return because I knew there wouldn’t be a moment like this again for us. I was leaving the country and they were doing their own things. If I could travel back in time I’d probably savour those moments when we would sit in silence then laugh for no reason or just be present and not fear the inevitable future.
Image Courtesy: https://pin.it/1ovU4ib
I began integrating into her group and her friends made me feel safe and wanted. As a kid being made to feel unwanted or undeserving really gets to. But they made me feel and showed me that the energies I felt about being unwelcome weren’t imaginary. I grew closer to her and surprisingly we connected through our religions. Although I am Christian and she was Muslim we were able to explore our different beliefs and interests through our different faiths. I learnt a bit of Urdu through her and taught her Shona.
The time where we spent the most time together was the term before I came to high school. If I could jump into the past I’d probably go to the school trip we had after the exams. It was right after the national exams and we were all exhausted from studying all year. The academic requirements of zimbabwe are rigorous so we were pretty burnt out by the end of it. I didn’t really realize how much my friends cared for me. They were understanding and kind. Every time they heard something out of pocket they would shut them down immediately. I believe they were the first feminists I met. I also believe we were the sneakiest people on that trip. To them, which they taught me, you can have the freedom to be whoever you want to be and growing up is hard.
The trip was awful and this was in seventh grade so you’d best believe that someone had split something on the seats and there was snot on someone’s hair. I wasn’t mentally there at the beginning but they would always say a joke or two to lift up each other's spirits. I had joined a group of friends that was kind to me and extremely protective of each other. The area we were staying in was beautiful and definitely not a classroom packed with past exam papers. To say we were brutal with each other would be an understatement the teasing was extreme but it was never targeted or purposefully mean. It was like those little miss… jokes. Even so, the entire trip I was scared to return because I knew there wouldn’t be a moment like this again for us. I was leaving the country and they were doing their own things. If I could travel back in time I’d probably savour those moments when we would sit in silence then laugh for no reason or just be present and not fear the inevitable future.
Image Courtesy: https://pin.it/1ovU4ib
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