"Appreciating Moments" by Jessica E

     My freshman year I made friends with a group of, at the time, juniors. They were all
some of the best people I’ve ever surrounded myself with to this day. Every one of them had
their own personality and they all came together as one big group of friends. However, there was
one individual I met that year that I appreciated in more ways than one. Normally, I wouldn’t
want people knowing who the person in my story is, but this person is too special and important
to hide, so his name is Nate. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated every other friend I had, but Nate
played an important role in my first two years of high school. There is one night that I can think
of that he was there for me when no one else was. It was my sophomore year now, and Nate’s
senior year. Nate, my best friend Kameryn, and I decided to go to the Friday night football game.
Since I couldn’t drive at the time and Etiwanda’s home games were held at Colony, Nate drove
us to the game. Once we got to the game we were all cheering in the stands with a few other of
our friends. Nate asked me during halftime if I would go with him too get a drink from the snack
bar, so of course I joined him. With it being a football game, it was chaotic and noisy. We
walked down from the cheering stands to the bottom. We made our way down to the snack bar.
He ordered a blue gatorade and sour punch straws. Once he got his drink and snack, he didn’t
want to go back to our seats just yet, so we just sat on the railing on the ramp. We started off
casually talking, then he started asking me questions about myself and my recent behavior. At
the time I was struggling with some things and wasn’t acting like myself. He told me some
things that I’ve always kept to myself and always will, just because it makes it that much more
meaningful to me knowing that his words will always be between just the two of us. We were
both too far into our topic to stop and go back to the game, so our conversation pretty much
lasted the rest of the game. This entire conversation is what made me realize how much he meant
to me. The way he would talk to me and wouldn’t stop until he knew I was feeling better made
me feel worth his time and made me feel important and appreciated to him. He always knew
what to say and had a way with words that could comfort me at any time. The advice he gave me
that night helped me become a better me. Nate was that person for me that made me want to
become a better person. After he helped me feel better, he would tell me about himself and
would trust me with everything he told me. Not only that night did he help me, but before and
after that, he was always there to lift me up and I would try to do the same for him if he ever
needed me in return. This night showed me to appreciate the people I love in my life and cherish
every moment I have with them. Just knowing that I had that type of support from him was
enough because I knew I could always count on him. At the time, not a lot of people around me
wanted to hear about my problems or have to deal with them. I never understood why Nate
wanted to even be friends with me, especially since he was a senior at the time while I was only
a sophomore, but that was just another reason I appreciated him. Unfortunately, now I haven’t
seen Nate in over a year because he is in the military in Japan. I’m proud of him and miss him
dearly, but I know he’s doing well and I hope to see him as soon as possible. Overall, Nate didn’t
care what others thought or how others looked, he was friends with people because he connected
with them and genuinely liked the person. This was one of the many reasons I look up to him and
hope to be as empathetic and a genuinely good person like him. Nate taught me a lot about being
the best person you can be and being there for others when they need you, and for that I am
grateful to have met him and gotten the chance to become close with him.