As much as possible, there should be no category when it comes to friends. This idea is utopic in the sense that it really cannot be helped. You get to meet a lot of people in your life and some of them may remain mere acquaintances while others become more than that. Others get to be so close to you that being friends sometimes is not enough to describe the relationship.
One of my best friends is Doi. In one of my previous entries, I mentioned that in the previous summer, she spent more time hatching shrimp than with me and our other friends. Doi is pretty much like any other person. She enjoys a good laugh and enjoys eating, despite her small frame. Music, movies and TV are a given for her. She does not walk sideways and has a pretty close relationship with her mother (what an understatement).
However Doi is not just any other person. Doi stays clear of coffee and counts on numerous glasses of water to keep her awake. She sleeps with a pillow or blanket on top of her head. She likes to wear black. Her radio is always tuned to NU107. One word which can never be used to describe her would be "cute" and one word which would fit her well would be "sarcastic." The speed of her eyeball movement is unbroken. She's a frustrated guitarist. She's quiet only when she's mad. She's highly opinionated and irrepressible. She's smart in all aspects - from the classroom down to the basic rules of the street. And most of all, she is the strongest person I know.
I'm not going to lie and say that the first time I met her, we immediately clicked and bonded that in a matter of days we knew all the slumbook details about each other and even formulated some sort of secret handshake. We actually did not get along at first. Just call it a classic Physics phenomenon of "like poles repel." Perhaps one of the greatest miracles is how we became friends. In high school we did our thesis together along with our friend Sue. During discussions, our arguments would rival Miriam Defensor's temperament that our thesis adviser once told us "Could you three please talk outside? You're giving me a heart attack."
The key to Doi's strength is that she has experienced the rudiments of life at an early age. In one of those nights wherein we sat at the dinner table and just chatted about the mundane and the sublime, the trivial and the profound, we concluded that if her life (even just at 21) would be the subject of such dramatic shows such as "Maalalaala Mo Kaya" or "Magpakailanman," the actress portraying her would have won an acting award. But what makes her amazing is the fact that she accepts and moves on. You may think "What is so amazing about that?" Well when you count the number of people all over the world who have either entered a mental asylum or committed suicide, I think I've made my point. Doi is driven by her faith, her love for her mother and her desire to become someone better. For all these reasons and more, I'm glad that she's my friend and I'm proud of what she has achieved.
Last September, Doi passed the Chemistry Licensure Exam. I have seen for myself how hard she worked for this examination. As the old saying goes "God helps those who help themselves." Once I was driving my Lola to thoe hospital and we passed by her school. I almost hit the car in front of me coz I was too busy pointing the banner out to my Lola.
Doi on the day we learned she passed the board exam.
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