I was looking at the giant moving truck. It was intimidating for an 8 year old, wondering if I’d ever see my house again. I had lived in that house my whole life; my mom grew up in that house, and what about my dad’s house? My aunt’s house? I can’t leave without saying goodbye to Papa either. So many questions were swirling around in my head as we set off for a place called Yuma, Arizona. Mom says it’s a desert. Will I see trees and grass again? I’ve never been to a desert… is it like TV? Are there real houses? Will there be tumbleweeds and mounds of sand? Little did I know, this one trip would change my life forever.
We reached Yuma and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was definitely different, but there are trees and grass and buildings everywhere! I started the 4th grade in August — that’s when we moved out — so it worked out well for us. The school was so strange: it had multiple buildings, there were too many kids to count, and instead of 4th-6th, this school was kindergarten to 6th! I headed to my homeroom teacher, Ms. Grable. “Hello there! Sofia, come here,” she shouted. Who is Sofia? Why is she coming here? She is awfully tan. “Show Lauren to the playground, please, and show her how to get to her classes.” Ms. Grable is passing me off to a student? I guess Sofia is showing me around now. She was a little overwhelming, but a kind kid.
At the time, I didn’t know anybody Hispanic, I only knew white and Black kids. She started saying things in Spanish and explained that she was Mexican. We started hanging out everyday! One thing I can never forget about that day was how strange and different this school was. The only normal thing to me was the rain, although to everyone else it was strange, since it never rained out there. Fast forward 7 years, I moved to California and she is back in Yuma, and once again I was intimidated by new people and experiences. The only thing that kept me from freaking out was our nightly calls. Every night we would find a new game to play, it was like she was here! Eventually I got settled. Even though I still missed Yuma, she came to visit me! We had a blast and it was like nothing had changed. I visit Yuma every chance I get because Sofia has gotten me through thick and thin, not to mention our families are really close! Her mom is my mom and vice versa. She is my sister, my dad is her dad, we trust each other with our lives. I am the only person her mom trusts to let her sleepover with.
When her family gets on her nerves, I am there to work her through it. When my Papa died, she was one of the only people I could bring myself to talk to, and when my family gets on my nerves she can always relate. When I get stuck in a memory, she is there to pull me out, and when we wanted to “leave this world,” we promised each other to never leave the other behind. She is the reason I am here today, the reason I’ll be here in the future, and the reason I am who I am. Even through our cringey phases, we were cringey together.
She saved my life that day we met and never knew it. I can only hope the same is true for her. All of my hardest decisions were made with her, all of my best moments were shared with her, even if she wasn’t there, and every single day, she is who I wish I was talking to. I used to dream about things like going to Greece or traveling the world, but now my dream is to one day show my best friend, Sofia, my life, my start, and my family.