The following story was written by Elysia Hilario as part of the Journalism Foundations first semester exam. These are the first profiles these students have written. 

In a society full of online chats, cherishing friendships seems like a daunting task. With the use of technology, knowing whether a person cares to make and put in the effort to have a  genuine relationship or not can be difficult. Freshman Jazlinne Garcia however, stands out as someone who cares about making long lasting and meaningful friendships, rather than ones that are easily discarded. 

For Jazlinne, friendships are more than simply people to hang out with, they are people who have shaped who she is. In regards to her personal morals, she understands the importance of loyalty and trust as she seeks this in her current and potential friendships.

 “I’d rather have one friend I really trust than having a whole group of friends that aren’t really the best,” Garcia said. 

Knowing this, Jazlinne has made it her mission to have quality friendships. With this in mind, she found friendships with two people who she cherishes the most: Alyani and Aiyana.

“I can talk to them about anything. I can open up to them without having to feel judged, but also that we can also have a good time with each other,” Garcia said.

However, making friends hasn’t always been easy for Jazlinne. 

“More recently, yeah, I’m more social,” Garcia said. “Making friends wasn’t difficult towards the end of it, but in the beginning I’d be really closed off. I’d only have a really small group of friends.”

There were many struggles Jazlinne had to overcome before she was able to experience what its like creating deep, meaningful bonds with people. 

“I used to have bad social anxiety, so usually I wouldn’t talk to somebody I didn’t know. Even then, my social anxiety was still bad, so my anxiety was definitely something I had to overcome,” Garcia said.

Nonetheless, this did not stop her. Despite having social anxiety, she still had a friend who talked to her and cared for her regardless of her struggle.

“It was honestly my best friend Aiyana that helped me alot. She is like, very social. She would talk to a lot of people all the time, so I would start talking to them, so overtime it made talking to people easier,” Garcia said. 

Furthermore, when reflecting upon friendships, Jazlinne has realized how much of a lasting impact friendships have made upon her. To her, living without friends is a death sentence.

“ They really made me who I am today,” Garcia said. “ If I didn’t have them I’d probably be this perky little girl who thinks that they’re all that.”