(17, GA, USA) Anonymous - Friends Are All You Need
Kickball was my favorite sport as a kid, a generally childish sport that involves a ball being kicked by two teams and each player on the team running to reach a certain area before they’re touched with the ball. When I was a child, I loved kickball. It was my favorite pastime actually! I looked forward to P.E. every Wednesday and Friday when we played kickball for an hour straight. But this one particular day, I was feeling down because of my favorite shoes being gone after moving recently. They were the shoes I got from my cousins before moving years ago, and I wore them every day. Because of this, every time I went to the plate and got ready to kick, I would strike out and cause us to have to switch fields. They yelled remarks at me every time I stepped up, “NOT HER AGAIN!” “GET HER OFF THE FIELD!” “BOO!!!” I felt so embarrassed I actually ended up turning bright red every time it became my turn, and I would ask my friend to go before me. After doing this for three turns, my team huddled with me and asked me what was wrong. I told them my grievances, and they hugged me as I began to cry about it a bit. After a bit, my friend smiled and asked me, “What color were they?” Not understanding what she meant, I raised an eyebrow and said, “Red and black,” in between my sobs. After school, I went home and my mother was especially smiley. She said, “I got a call from your friend’s mom today. She has a surprise for you tomorrow.” I smiled and wondered all night what could be waiting for me tomorrow. A toy? A stuffed animal? A puppy? The anticipation drove me wild! When I went to school the next day, before class, she tapped my shoulder and flashed a bright smile to me after showing me a blank pair of Converse, colored red and black with Sharpie and washable markers. I smiled bright enough to light up an entire room that day, and when we went to recess, I kicked the best I had ever kicked in my entire life. The shoes didn’t look exactly like the ones I had lost; in fact, they were quite different from the actual ones. However, it was the thought that counted. The fact that my friend thought my happiness was important enough to take time out of her day to make me the shoes I had lost instead of just hugging me and expressing her pity. Sometimes it really does just take a friend to make your day even better.
