In the 5th grade, I started off the year with no friends. All my friends from previous years had moved away, so I was on my own for the most part. I did try to talk to people and would put on a smile so people presumed I was nice. I was a pretty shy and quiet little girl, so it truly took me a lot of effort to try to make a friend. It did not always work out because there was this one instance where I tried to talk to join in the conversation about the movie Beetlejuice but the girl said, “I wasn’t talking to you”, ouch. I was unsure if anything was wrong with me, or if I was just simply unlikeable. But, I did not want to give up and I just tried my best to be friends with someone. I would stand around with the group of girls and listen to their conversations, but I did not know what to say, nor did I even feel like I belonged to the group. 10-year-old I did not want to just sit around alone though, so I would just hang around with these girls. Even if I would be with these girls, I never clicked with them and I felt out of place when near them. One day, I got tired of hanging out with them. I walked away from the group, not like they noticed me anyways since I was left out, and looked around the playground. To my right I see a girl, she is standing alone looking at the tetherballs. I thought to myself that this would be a perfect opportunity to make a friend. She’s alone, I’m alone, what can go wrong? I was hesitant at first, afraid she would not like me, but I took the chance. I approached her and asked if she wanted to play tetherball with me, and she said yes! We did not play for long though (was a little bit boring and I’m not the sporty type), and we ended up sitting down and talking to each other. I complimented her bow and we hit it off! She was extremely nice to me, by giving me a chance and making me feel like I belonged. We would end up hanging out at recess often, talking about anything from toys to vacations. I felt like I finally found a good friend. That girl that I befriended near the tetherballs is still my best friend today. She is my world and I do not think I could ask for a better friend. She has always been there for me and supported me no matter what. Her kind and beautiful soul has really saved me through elementary, middle, and high school. Considering how shy of a kid I was, I still am proud that I went up to her and talked to her. It was something that I never thought I would do, but with that effort, I found a good-hearted and amazing friend. There are times in our life when it may seem like nothing is going right, and it keeps plummeting and plummeting, but it will eventually be okay. Without this, I would not have learned the value of friendship and what it means to take a step forward. That step forward granted me my number one person.