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Personal Narrative: Personal Experience

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Sarah and I met in the second grade and immediately became best friends. At this point in my life, I genuinely needed her. Sure, I had friends, but I never truly fit in. At my Jewish private day school, I was the only Chinese student in my grade. My peers felt uncomfortable around me because they thought I was too "foreign." Many of them failed to understand that culturally, I was just like them. I converted to Judaism before I could speak and was raised by two Ashkenazi Jews since age one.
I was painfully self-conscious about my Asian appearance, but with Sarah, the concept of race disappeared. She was my first friend who didn't consider me her "Chinese best friend," just her best friend. Like many second grade girls, our friendship consisted of secret handshakes, gossiping, annoying her older brother, and drama. …show more content…

We brought out the best in each other, and it was clear that there was an immense amount of love. From the beginning, Sarah recognized that I had a shy and submissive personality. The first time she called me out on it was at recess in the third grade when she claimed that Oreos were her favorite cookie. Instinctually, I agreed, but she responded with "do you actually like them or are you just saying that because I did?" I was shocked; I didn't realize how natural it was for me to agree with everything. Over the next few months, I slowly became more self-aware and was fed up with being a follower. I decided from then on that I would formulate my own opinions and make decisions for myself. Sarah always encouraged me to be independent, and her message stayed with me. Perhaps it didn't guide me through everything in life, but initially, it helped me branch out, and try new

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