Jovanne Johnson

I met Jovanne my freshman year in high school. We had the same home room and we had basically all our classes together. If we didnt have a class together, our classes were next to each other. Jovanne and I became good friends. We had the same lunch together in addition to all our classes so our friendship came natural. Jovanne was an all around good person. She had a good heart. Not only was she pretty on the outside she was a beautiful on the inside too! Jovanne and I became best friends and we added a third person to our little click, Carmen Boyd. We all had lunch together and we had so much fun. I never loved two people other than someone in my family like I loved those two girls. I had truly found two friends. Our second year of high school got at little more complicated. Jovanne made friends with another click of girls from our school and started hanging with them more so than Carmen and I. At first Carmen and I felt a little left out but soon we made friends with those girls too. Their names where Makeda, Jeanatte, Kanae, and Lorriane. They accepted me into their little click and for the first time ever I felt like I finally fit in. I was a very shy girl growing up and I was very insecure. I wasnt very talkative and I was very quiet. I always felt different like i didnt fit in. But when them I felt like I belonged they accepted me for who I was. Goofy , quiet, shy and skinny me! Looking back those where the "good-ole-days"

I always though of my friends and I in high shool as better than the other girls. We never fought over guys or stupid things like other "clicks" did. We had fun with each other an we didnt let boys get in the way of our fun. Everybody liked Jovanne in School. All the girls wanted to be her and all the guys wanted to be with her. She was quite popular. She won homecoming duches our sophmore year she ran and she won queen when she ran our senior year. She was gonna run our for prom queen but since she had already won homecoming she decided to let someone else win prom. I admired Jovanne I wanted to be her but I was never jealous. She was my friend and I was proud of every time she won anything. Jovanne moved away in the middle of our sophmore year, her mother was moving to a small town outside Chicago. She didnt like the town and three months later she came back. I was so happy! I got my friend back.

Junior year went smooth but we lost some of our click. Jeanatte and Makeda decided to graduate in three years instead of four. So they left us after Junior year. Senior year it was just Kanae, Carmen, Jovanne, Lorraine and I but we got an new member in our crew. Jade started hanging with us. I liked Jade she was kinda like me. She did care what people thought of her and I liked that in her. We all became close and I loved all my friends as if they were my sisters.

Senior year brought changes. We started growing apart senior year. Boyfriends came into the picture. Every since I could remember Jovanne kelpt a boyfriend by her side. I never remember a time she didnt have one. Our crew kinda split although we still hung together Carmen, Jovanne, and Lorraine seemed to on one side and then there was Jade, Kanae and I. I hated when they separated themselves from us. At the senior prom Carmen, Jovanne and Lorraine all took pictues without letting the rest of us know. I was so hurt by that. I never told a soul. From that point own I kinda resented them because I didnt understand why I wasnt included . All I ever wanted in life was to feel like I belonged.I just wanted to feel important to somebody even if it was just one person.

I felt so resentful that I just wanted to get away from everyone and find new friends and start all over so I decided to go to a different college than all my other friends. Jade and Kanae went to U of I. Carmen and Jovanne went to Depaul , Lorraine went to EIU and I wen to NIU. We graduated. It was bitter sweet and we all went our separate ways. We still kelp in touchh but life got in the way.

Sometimes I wish my friends would have valued our relationship they way I did. I loved them (and stiil do) as if they were my sisters.Why dont people value friendships or maybe it is just me! So to anyone reading this in HS Hold on to your friendships, You gonna need them as the boyfriends come and go, your family might not be there, your brother and sisters get on your nerves, school is kicking your ass, you boss is crazy…. You’ll always have your friends……………