14 years...

SPCP 1997

Girls clad in plaid skirts sitting on the floor, belting a series of raucous laughters in unison, not bothered by what others might think or say about them. We were those blithe spirits 14 years ago: that time when everything was simpler and all we worry about was how to solve mathematical equations, beat deadlines and be noticed by our crushes. And here we are in a hotel room 14 years later playing silly games, rolling in the aisles, reliving who we were back then but now aged by time.

6th grade. Same class, different cliques. Until one day after school, we gathered at one table in the canteen and that was it. Hatcho. We became friends. As a team, we explored the roller-coaster ride of teenage life and discovered that it was never meant to be easy. GSMs, Pansol trip, camp-in, crushes, listening to Alanis Morisette and Spice Girls, dancing to the tune of "Let me love you down", Hatcho table, bloopers, conversations, petty fights, reconciliations, sneaking, getting caught are traces from our not-so distant past. We shared intimate secrets and formed our childhood dreams. We laughed. We cried. Then laughed some more. We grew up together. And in the process, we changed and somehow matured.

As college pushed us to independence and professional life showed us the real world, we managed to keep our ties intact. Some connections slowly drifted apart but most stood the test of time. Until now, it amazes me how we would talk about moments from those years in great lengths and heartily laugh at our blunders. The jokes never grow old. We do. Maybe that's why we love reminiscing because we are transported back to our carefree youth.

Here we are, more than a decade after, conversing the way we used to as if neither time nor distance ever separated us. We don't hang out as much as we would want to. Some of us live in different time zones. Others are starting a family. While most are pinned down by crazy work schedules and career demands. We're older, maybe a bit jaded, more insecure than ever, and just as uncertain as to what the future holds. We are never the same. But we find comfort in knowing that when the going gets tough (and the tough gets going), we still have each other's back. Just a phone call away. An assurance that someone is ready to listen on the other line, tell you the awful truth as it is and console you at the same time.

Aristotle once said, "Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit". It's amazing how time changes relationships. Some affinities fade into oblivion either becoming bitter rivals or worse, morphing into strangers. A few bonds, on the other hand, stay stronger as the years progress, weathering the storm one after another. I've established many acquaintances and connections in this journey. But I am most grateful to the bond I have with these girls. To have a genuine friendship like this makes me one lucky lass.

14 years crazy ladies and counting...

Cheers!

Ortigas 2011
nixasis