I was in first grade when I met Sarah. She joined our class after the school year had already started although I don't think it had been more than a couple weeks. At the school I attended new students were assigned a "buddy" to show them the ropes, where the bathrooms were, and what side of the playground was off limit to younger students, etc. As there was an empty desk next to me my teacher sat Sarah there and asked me to be her buddy.
Sarah and I soon became good friends, spending recess together, eating together at lunch, playing together after school. This was remarkable because Sarah who was Korean didn't speak any English. Kids learn quickly so she was speaking fluent English by the end of the year and I must have picked up some Korean although I don't remember any of it now, which is to bad.
I remember Sarah as always being calm and polite, smiling serenely. All her movements were very smooth and deliberate which gave her the appearance of grace although she must have had just as many awkward moments as any other child.
Sarah taught me to draw. I'm a perfectionist and I have a very hard time trying new things as I'm not likely to be good at them rite away. I'm still not much of an artist but Sarah's kind comments taught me to enjoy the act of drawing rather than concentrating on the result.
When we were in fifth grade Sarah's family moved to LA and I never saw or heard from her again. I've wondered off and on over the years where she is and how she's doing. I've tried a couple times to find her on line but her name may very well have changed and it wasn't that uncommon to begin with. I imagine it would probably be a disappointment to find her again and discover that she's just another person. This way I can continue to remember her through the eyes of a child with affection.
2 comments:
I had a Sarah named Amy. I think she moved in second or third grade, but because we grew up in a small town, half the class was related to her, so there were updates once in a while.
I was a freshman in college located 90 minutes from home when the dorm phone rang. It was Amy. She was living on the other end of campus. We got together and it was like we'd never missed a beat.
Then she got homesick and dropped out after three months.
Couple years later, I was a camp counselor on the shores of Lake Michigan when my mom called the camp. "Did you know Amy lives five miles from where you are? You should call her."
I did, we had lunch, and we exchanged contact info... and then she moved again.
We seem to keep running into each other which tells me we were really supposed to be friends.
I hope someday she stops moving.
Me too Roses me too.
Some people are clearly meant to be a part of our lives.
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