Nishiboy According To A New Friend

I always find it interesting to know what a person’s friends have to say about him. It’s like that Johari window thing says, what a person sees about himself is not exactly the same as what others see. That’s why I decided to ask some of my friends to write something about me. I thought it might be interesting both for me and for you, my dear readers, to know what my friends have to say about me.

Gentlemen (and a couple of ladies, at the most), I bring you: The "Nishiboy According To His Friends" Series aka How To Blog Without Really Writing Anything

I wanted to be fair and ask people who hated me to write something about me too, but good luck getting them to do anything for me.

The first entry is from Kerwin, a person who was mostly a stranger to me until recently. Since this series will be about friends saying stuff about me, this is me according to a "new friend".



Nishiboy According To A New Friend
By Kerwin


In high school, stereotypes rule. Cliques are formed organically all the time. People gravitate towards people with the same interests, and the simplicity of high school life dictates that you stay within the boundaries of your associated group. As High School Musical puts it succinctly, "Stick to the status quo."

But there's another lesson to be learned in high school: it always ends. Boundaries will shatter, the world will be filled with shades of gray. The next time you see each other, people have changed, and you can no longer define them by any one trait.

What's this got to do with Nishiboy? Nothing, and perhaps everything. Yes, I met Nishiboy back in high school. But I hardly knew him. We weren't classmates. We weren't even batchmates-- I was two years ahead, which meant that back when I was a "ruling" senior, he was just a sophomore. What little I remember of Nishiboy consisted of his looks: he was short and pudgy--adorable, yes-- but not what I'd consider "commanding." And as high school stereotypes go, he wasn't exactly jock material.

Eleven years later and I meet him again. A stroke of destiny, a manifestation of fate, whatever. Both of us have transformed into people far removed from our high school selves, but where he was merely surprised with what he saw, I was shocked with what I saw. The boy I once distinguished from the rest by virtue of his unique surname has become a MAN. Not only has Nishiboy grown taller (ah, such is puberty) than I had, but he had also attained a certain kind of swagger. Improved stance? Check. Steel in his eyes? Check.

In time, through several bottles of beer and cups of coffee, I learned more about Nishiboy and the tribulations he had to undergo to be where he was now. Growing up had its price. What strength he showed today he attained through heartbreaks, through rejections, through failures, through pain. What's amazing about all these though is that despite the maturity in his face, a little bit of that sophomore eleven years ago peeks through-- when he laughs, when his voice gets excited recalling the experiences of the yesteryears, when he has a bit of scientific knowledge to impart. The world may have beaten him black and blue (and continues to do so, based on his latest entry), but just seeing that youthfulness still reside within him makes me think that he can weather this bout.

I may have known Nishiboy for years, but this friendship has only begun. And I'm excited as hell to see what he's going to do. With Nishiboy, I have a feeling this is going to be one hell of an adventure.

Other entries in this series:

Nishiboy According To A High School Friend

Nishiboy According To A College Friend

For the curious, Kerwin has a blog, but it's been ages since he last updated: http://www.thesunbakedking.com/ . Do me a favor, though, and don't just say "Kerwin is cute" when you comment.