Going into a new school knowing very few people is similar to a teenager taking their drivers test. It is a very scary thing to think about. It definitely makes it easier having a friend by your side. Unfortunately, I had to go through this terrifying experience myself. My seventh grade year I didn’t know anybody except my brother. Once school started I didn’t even exist in his world. Thankfully, many other kids my age were going through the same thing. When I got home that night I began to ponder, “what if I was the odd one out and everyone else knew each other?” These situations certainly occur all of the time, I just happened to be lucky.

No matter where you live in this crazy world, there is always someone in need of a true friend. Although finding a loyal and trustworthy friend is very hard to come across, it is definitely worth the search. Luckily, for me, it happened within the blink of an eye. Being able to change the life of another person is the most bounding, endorsing, and rewarding thing I have ever experienced.

Three years ago, in my sixth grade year, I was in a school that I had been in since Preschool. It had become my second home. Not only did kids know everyone’s name, we knew every little thing about each other.

All of a sudden, a new student had enrolled in our school. Being as young and immature as we were, we didn’t know how to react to this. It wasn’t like he was from just around the block. He was a stranger. Unfortunately, my friends reacted to this the wrong way. They responded with bullying and hatred. Knowing this was wrong; I chose not to take part in such vulgar behavior. I decided to take the opposite approach. Although losing my friends was in mind, I was going to do the right thing.

The next day went a little differently. Instead of just sitting back and watching him like some bystander gawking at someone being taken away in an ambulance, I decided to take action. I approached him. He was very different, so different that he wasn’t even from this country. He had recently moved here from Africa. Even his name was foreign. I couldn’t even pronounce it let alone spell it. Mubezi Bakiika. There was something extremely different about this boy. Before long I found out my new friend, Mubezi, had mental disabilities. I didn’t let this bother me. I was determined to become his friend.

Before Mubezi and I knew it we were great friends! I enjoyed eating lunch together, reading to him in the library, and listening to all the wonderful stories about Africa and his family. The stories about his ancestors intrigued me the most! I loved listening to him. Weeks and weeks would go by, and I just couldn’t get enough of Mubezi. He soon became one of the closest friends I had ever dreamed of having.

The year had flown by. Almost like a vacation, where you have a week, but it only seems to last two days. Before I knew it, I was walking into my last day at this school. I wasn’t sure how to feel. I was going to miss it, but more importantly I was going to miss him. This boy, Mubezi, was a complete stranger one hundred and eighty days ago. And yet, I feel like I had known him my entire life. Suddenly something out of the blue happened that made my whole year worthwhile. Mubezi had given me four tickets to his Special Olympic Games. I will never forget the words he said to me as he handed me the tickets. Mubezi said, “E, thank you for being here for me this year. Here are my tickets to the Special Olympics. Bring your family!”

The moment he had handed me these tickets, I noticed something I had never even thought of before. You don’t have to buy things for people just to keep them around. The slightest little thing, like listening, means the world to people like Mubezi. Something like becoming someone’s friend is life changing! At this point and time I realized that standing up to my friends and becoming his friend was the best decision I had ever made. Not only did I change his life, he changed mine. Mubezi Bakiika is a friend that I will keep forever!