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Sometimes, we meet the one person in our childhood that unexpectedly becomes so important to us, that they have shaped us to be who we are today. I had always known it the moment I met her, but Nika was an incredibly kind and loving presence in the lives of the people she met. It’s been awhile, but at the time, Nika and I would tell each other almost everything that went on in our lives for as complicated as it could be for middle schoolers, and we had been so supportive for one another in whatever we chose to do. Of course, life takes us on our own paths, over the years, but we make it a point to check in every so often, and once we talk, the distance suddenly disappears.
As such, she had reached out to me to take her graduation photos, to which I was happy to offer my help. It was no question for me, as I knew how important getting her degree was to her. Nika is one of the most hardworking and dedicated people that I know, and has devoted her time to making sure she is set on a career that she can be happy with.
Once we had met up, we began catching up on life and as we had arrived on campus, I wanted to bring this feeling of triumph in her accomplishments on the foreground of our shoot. I wanted her to take me to the locations that were the most important to her, and as we reached towards the steps of her department’s building, Nika had brought out a photo of her grandfather, and her cap that read “He is With Me”. After then, the session brought itself together by giving meaning to what Nika was striving towards.
You see, Nika is one of my friends that will selflessly take her own time to be there and support me in whatever I’ve gone through, and I understood on that day on where she drives her inspiration from. Even in the moment of her success, she still offers it in a way in which her accomplishments were not done by her alone. Rather, it was a collaborative effort from her family and everyone else who has been by her side. I couldn’t be more proud of one of my closest friends as she endeavors on her road to nursing as she goes on forward.