Banyan: My Second Family

I’m proud to say that I had a quite happy youth. Many factors played a role in that: position of my school (right in front of Garosu-gil, one of the hottest places in Seoul), supporting parents, and my ability to be scholarly top between my peers with a little effort (not in KMLA, but at middle school, I was quite smart actually). But still, the main reasons were my friends. Since I was young, I loved people, especially friends because I was an only child. They were my brothers and sisters. Although I love all (well, at least most) of my friends in my youth, sadly, its very hard to contact them regularly in a dormitory school in Gangwondo. Still, I have six friends that I still keep in contact, meet at least once a year, and truly love. So, today I will talk about who they are and how they influenced me.

My first friend, L, a skinny boy with a height similar as me. He is basically the my ‘bob’ friend (best of best friend). He was in my first grade class in middle school and lived in the same apartment with me. So basically I’ve done everything with him and we have 0 secrets. Now, he goes to Sangsan highschool, another private dormitory school in Jeonju. Since we were both top ranking in our school, we were also rivals in almost everything: grades, competitions, and student elections. Both a motivator and a supporter, he was a big part of my youth.

The second boy is U, with a short height and a rather special fashion sense. He is absolutely the funniest and the craziest guy I’ve ever seen in my life. When I’m with him, I just can’t stop laughing. All the pranks and jokes makes me laugh like a joker (not the creepy laugh that joker has, but well, you get the idea). Even if I’m sometimes mad at him, his bright atmosphere just makes me unable to fight with him. He is an outstanding singing rapper and with his tension there is no doubt that he will succeed. Reading this, you may think that he is some maniac who has nothing in his head, but in the inside, he is the warmest person I’ve ever seen who cares deeply about his friends and future.

The third and last boy is M. M is actually a KMLA 23rd waver: some will probably know him by his unique family name. He is the nicest teenager I’ve met. With a tall height and glasses that make him look mature, he had the most girlfriends between the four of us. Though his first impression make him look like an adult, he is actually naïve kindergartener. He loves hitting us and running away, and doing idiotic actions without a second thought. Still, most think that he is the calmest of us since he only shows the unleashed mode in front of us. Because he is domestic, I’m not close to him as I was in middle school, but when I meet him privately, he turns back into the friend I liked in my middle school years.

Next the first girl I will introduce, J. J is sometimes even closer to me than the boys. She listened to every worries and gave the most sincere solutions to the problems. How I became close friends with her, in fact, was talking about each other’s ‘love issues’. I’ve been in the same class in her for two her for two years and because she wasn’t the nerd type, she is in almost all my fun class memories. She is tall and looks cold in the outside, but to me and my friends she is a clown who laughs a lot.

The second girl, H, is also tall and has a very rough mouth. For her friends, she is almost willing to do anything, which sometimes makes me worried that she would be tricked by a jerk. She is actually one of the first person I’ve talked to since I came from my elementary school alone. I like the part that she is always honest (sometimes, too honest), so I don’t have to think twice about what she is really thinking. She is more like a boy than a girl to me; I have almost no barrier in doing or saying things to her.

Last of my 6 besties is N. Actually, I wasn’t that close to her in my schooldays: close, but not as close as the other five. The rest of the girls and M is very close to her, so I’m still developing the friendship with her. But still, calling her old lady, I’m not uncomfortable being with her at all. When I am having a hard time she is a person that I can call and talk to.

Since first grade in middle school we went to swimming pool at summer and ice rink at winter; both in the Banyan Tree hotel. Because of this, we call ourselves “Banyan” and have a “Banyan Assembly” every year at December 21st. Every moment that I am too tired to get up and do something, just the thought of the day refreshes me. And when I finally meet them, for once I feel completely relaxed and the bright side of my personality that is hiding final sees the sunlight. This event is more than just meeting friends to me; it is almost like finally finding lost brothers and sister. It makes me completed.

Life before meeting them was not so decent. I was not interested in studying and lived pretty noxiously for a 14 year old. Then, while I was arguing with my parents and while the meaningless life was starting to get boring, I met the friends. They are the ones who showed me that chasing my dreams is important and everyday life can be more exciting than anything else. Together, we dominated the school council and led almost all recreation by dancing, rapping and etc. As people put it, it was the prime time - the golden time – of my life.

Well, now it sounds like I lived a nerdy life: totally not true. Jumping over school walls to go out for lunch, sneaking out from hotels at school trips: in all of the experiences, they were with me. Especially, in Jeju, when seven of us were hiding under the bushes, and teachers were passing by, though the punishment would be severe if caught, I was excited, happy actually, to spend the memorable moment with my friends.

We are all born as a mold of clay. Youth is the hand that shapes our clay, forms the shape that is left to harden in the following years. Whenever hardships hit us, interfering with the hardening, the shapes of our youth helps us withstand them. If it weren’t for the “Banyan” friends in my life, my clay would’ve been a completely different form; maybe I wouldn’t even be writing this essay in KMLA right now, instead, I might be in a karaoke in Apgujeong. No one knows. Some say friends are the treasures in one’s life. To me they are a second family: a crucial part of my existence.