The girl (now Woman) who helped

I thought my shorts and t-shirt were the height of fashion my first day of sophomore year.

It would have been at my old school.

At my new school, the girls looked like they walked right out of the pages of a fashion magazine. Sun dresses with bright florals, cute strappy sandals, manicured nails and perfectly highlighted hair. “Out of place” was an understatement.

Until biology class.

A pixie of a girl walked in, wearing a GIGANTIC Flaming Lips t-shirt, jeans and scuffed up Chucks.

Later that night, I told my mom all about Stephanie.

“Is her mom Patricia?” my mom asked, “I was best friends with a Patricia in 5^th grade. She’s from here and has a daughter named Stephanie.”

Despite my skepticism, I asked her: “Hey Steph, is your mom Patricia?”

“Yes! And your mom is Lisa, right?” She smiled.

After that we were pretty much inseparable.

Stephanie helped me become ME. We were weird together; she listened to all my crazy ideas, spent hours singing along to our favorite songs, and daydreamed about how awesome our lives were going to be after high school. She helped me realize that I wasn’t alone and that there were people who thought the way I did.

I don’t know if she really knows how much she helped me. I can never thank her enough.

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I was selected for this very special “CleverHaiti” opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity. All opinions are my own.