TRIZIA AND ANGELA SERIES

College is the scariest place on earth. It is the time where you start anew and every wrong foot on the ground, you are bound to be doomed. Only God knows how conscious I was in walking at a certain pace, always minding where my foot went (also terrified from the watchful eyes of those gnarly professors). I am lucky enough to have found friends who were also scared--testing the sometimes cold, sometimes hot water. We were small fishes in the ocean we call college. 

My 17-year old self, gauche and immature, thought college was about, well, boys, meeting new people, going to parties, and more boys. Do not judge me, I bet you thought the same, too. What never really crossed my mind was the very important fact that college also meant meeting new people who will never judge you and be there for you when you slack up your pace and set the wrong foot on the ground. I thought that this was highly unlikely to ever occur, considering the fact that college is nothing but swarmed with a bunch of manipulating bees. Okay, I was exaggerating a little bit. But point is, why would people even bother gaining even more (true) friends when they have enough from when they were in grade school and high school?

College for me has been over for roughly 5 months now. It was a toxic place to be in but fulfilling at the same time. Now that I am 22 (I would very much like to think that "gauche" and "immature" are words that are not chained to me anymore), I realized that there are only but a few people you meet in college that you feel you have known since you were 5. Not everyone can find a wonderful set of mixed personalities conquer the stress you experience that is brought about by the demands of college. I am lucky.

And no, ten decades (or even more) of friendship do not define the depth of its true meaning. You may think you know a person because you used to braid each other's hair when you were 6 but sometimes, that is not the case. You are missing something very important. And that is the NOW. The things that you have been through--good and bad--and how you got over it and made the ropes of friendship even sturdier than how it was before.

Hi friends, I miss you all so much. Let us have coffee soon and bring our readings just for fun.

This is a long overdue post. These were taken months ago and since this week I am feeling very lucky because I got to see my friends despite their busy schedules, I am posting this and because Anj needs post-its of reminders from me.

This is Angela, one of my closest friends in college. We were the scared ones, so concerned about our footing. And then we discovered Orange Chicken and that made us happy.

Isn't she such a pretty face?

We always end up wearing the same thing, unplanned! This is our graduation dresses. Anj is wearing a dress from Debenhams. I am wearing a dress from Provocouture by Shai Dela Merced (the design is her graduation gift for me--thanks, Shai!). Anj and I walked in these 5.5" Aldo pumps for more than 8 hours--hers is leather and mine is satin. We also shared the same horrific "fall" during graduation but let us not delve deeper into that. Notice how we were looking that way? We were waiting for Diane, who, by the way, came in late. Ha ha ha. You were sorely missed, Diane!

I should not have posted this but this is our default face (evident in one of our classes where Anj hissed at our professor when he gave us something to do over the weekend). Anj always with a smile and me with my infamous "lost" look.

This was taken in 2005. Matching tank tops!

I know that this is a complete sabotage, even for myself. BUT... Mmhmm (that was me clearing my throat). Exhibit A: Young girls who have yet to discover the wonders of side bangs, hair dye, and a nice shade of lipstick!

And now, to save us from further embarrassment (due to my sudden burst of reminiscing the good old days when we were nothing but scared little fishies in college), I end with this: OUR FASHION SENSE MAY HAVE CHANGED BUT THE FRIENDSHIP REMAINS THE SAME.

Photos by: Clara Tan