I suppose you are reading this to get a better idea of who Janet is. So, what can I tell you about her that her family and other friends haven’t covered? All I have are stories. So here we go…

Once upon a time, there lived the prettiest, nicest girl in the whole entire world. I first met her in the 6th grade in the strange rabbit-hole called middle school. She had recently moved from Hawaii and was anxious about making new friends. I was trying to eat my sandwich. We had a few classes in common but we’d never talked. “Do you eat that every day?” she asked, pointing to the type of sandwich that I, in fact, did eat every day. “Yeah” I answered, “why do you eat that every day?” In response, she shrugged, “I like it”. It was so simple but something clicked into place with those words. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had just met the girl who would become my best friend. In fact, it took me a long time to realize the place she holds in my life. Over the years, she’s had an undeniable impact on my life. To comprehend her influence in my life, I would have to pull apart the very threads of my personality.

Did you know that I can’t listen to a Mariah Carey song without thinking of Janet? I remember the first time she sang in front of me. We were in PE class, not exercising as usual. We stood under a tree probably talking about boys. All of a sudden, Janet paused and said “Don’t laugh at me, but tell me what you think of my voice.” She started with the opening chords of Mariah’s “Hero”. I had never heard the original song but I was sure that whatever kind of voice Mariah Carey has, it can’t be better than this. I was right. Janet’s voice was clear, strong with a passion that I had never seen her express anywhere else. She later sang the song at our school’s Talent Show and completely won everyone over with her rendition. Where Mariah was whiny, Janet was real. Where Mariah overdid notes, Janet was spot-on. If you ever meet Janet, ask her to sing “Reflection” from Mulan for you. No one sings that song like Janet.

I have watched her grow up with music. I have watched her voice develop from beautiful to brilliant. She called me one day and told me she was done with music. She wanted to do something more significant with her life. I was happy for her but part of me wanted to tape her voice and send it secretly to a record company. I haven’t completely shelved that idea.

For our 8th grade English class (Mrs. May!!), we were partners in a book project. True to ourselves, we chose “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou. I read the book all the way through. The day before our presentation, Janet confessed that she didn’t finish the book. Knowing our shared borderline-obsession with good literature, I was shocked. She admitted that she couldn’t read the rape chapter. She tried but it was too difficult. But I had read it. It was difficult and emotional, but I read it. Why? And that’s something you realize after being around Janet. She has an uncanny ability to make you think critically about yourself. You ask yourself, why am I how I am? Never in a negative way, but self-reflection nonetheless.

It’s this aspect of my friendship with Janet that has defined me. We’ve spent so many hours on the phone asking ourselves this same question. Why do I feel like crying because that beautiful boy ignored me? Why am I so cynical? Why do we love chocolate so much? Why do we drink coffee all the time? Perhaps we think too much for our own good. But I’d like to think that it’s made us better people. I’d like to think that she’s made me a better person. Once you’ve been called a “balanced tree” and “the wisest soul”, you never go back. You turn to the future and keep walking because someone believes in you. Someone that you respect very much. Someone like Janet.

And it is Janet’s rare ability to understand people, to find their weaknesses and then support them whole-heartedly…it’s this ability which makes her irreplaceable. And she does all of this a heart that is way too big for one person to possess. When Janet says she is happy for you, she is one of the few people I have met in my life who is truly, completely, unconditionally happy for you.