About a Friend

This is about my friend. My best friend from college. Lets call him A. The friend that Y says that I would marry if I were a girl. She is wrong, but that is not the point here.

A was one of the first people I met in college. A was on the golf team, and my golf coach introduced me to him on my second or third day in the US. And he was arguably one of the most annoying people I had ever met. He hated everyone and everything, and made sure that everyone around him knew about it all the time.

I roomed with him on my first golf trip, and it was terrible. We disagreed on every single thing. It was only the beginning. Over the next year, I saw A at his worst. His wild temper, his complete disrespect for everything, and his constant jeering at his teammates. Over that year, I also learned about A's past. A had gotten involved with drugs in his final year of high school. After high school, he did not want to go to college, and he delivered chinese food for two years. Ironice, as A was the son of two very successful people - both with doctoral degrees from top universities in the world. When he got tired of lazing around, he finally enrolled in college, but he could not let go of his drugs. His grades were pathetic, and he was on academic probation. And then it happened.

One Friday night, he overdosed, and the lethal combination of alcohol and drugs nearly killed him. He found himself in the hospital surrounded by his concerned parents. As he lay on the hospital bed, he decided that this had gone on enough. He needed to change himself. And so he did.

I met A a few months after this. He had stopped taking drugs, and he was pulling his grades up. He was more focused on life. And while he still was far from a pleasant person, people told me that he was trying.

Over the next few years, I saw the most amazing transition in a person. By the end of his sophomore year, A had clearly established himself as a stellar student. And although his people skills took time, he was getting there. He was much nicer, more tolerant and a thoughtful person. We had a few classes together, and we started to bond. We stopped ignoring each other on the golf course.

We studied together for some classes, and bounced ideas off each other our future plans. I urged him to take some Economics classes, and he added to my interest in Computer Science.

A graduated from college, and got accepted for a Masters degree at the top school in the nation in his field. He got a boatload of scholarships, and won some big international competitions. He graduated and went to work at a highly specialized boutique in Silicon Valley.

Though we now live on opposite coasts, we remain in close touch. I valued his perspective on my essays, and we often talk about quitting our jobs and purusing a dream. The dream of building a golf course. I am not a person who trusts easily, and hence always think about doing things on my own. However, I can see myself working with A.

I recently came to know that A helped out a guy we went to college with money for books. It may seem small, but it was a meaningful gesture. It is A's way of helping those less privileged than him.

I have often shared A's story with people. It is a story of strength, and determination. A story of change. Of bouncing back. Of learning from mistakes. It is not just about becoming better student or worker.

It is about becoming a better person!