Annette De La Llana

Annette de la Llana
AKA Goofy

I guess you can say that I've known Annette for a while but then again not really. We had honors trig together in the tenth grade (what a mistake!) and we rarely talked. She always chatted with my friend Monica and I joined in but we couldn't be considered close friends, more like acquaintances.

May 17, 1996--Prom

Annie's senior pic!

It was second semester of our senior year and all the seniors could talk about was the prom. Through the prodding of a mutual friend, it was decided that Annette would be carpooling with us. I was upset at first because I only wanted to go with close friends, but Annette came up to me in Mr. Griffith's second period Econ class (NIGHTMARES!!!) and we started chatting. By the time prom rolled around, we were close.

Say cheese!

The night of Grad Night, Annette and I ended up limping around towards the end because I had blistered heels, and Annette had twisted her ankle the day before prom. That was a bonding experience. The next Monday at school, Annette was rolled into Mr. G's class in a wheelchair. She had broken her ankle when she stepped off the bus when we came back from Disneyland. The fun was starting to begin....

Thank God we made it back to the bus!

Everyday I wheeled her to her third period class and sometimes around campus. The defining moment of our blossoming friendship was when old Mr. G decided to be earth-friendly and volunteered us to help clean up the areas around the campus. Our class was to clean up the front, outside of the campus and across the street--having to go down a steep hill and then of course having to go back up on the other side--pushing Annette. What an adventure!!!!

Annie in her wheelchair at graduation!

From that day, we shared a special bond and while she was away at Summer Bridge Program at UCSD that summer, we wrote almost daily, e-mailed each other constantly and tried to see each other whenever we could. But I guess you could say that our closeness came around in the second semester of our freshman year at college.

Now three years later, it feels like I've known Annette my whole entire life. Through all the ordeals that have been thrown in our lives, we've been there for each other unconditionally. We're Thelma & Louise, Booby & Goofy, Chrisiquita & Ananita--Chrissy and Annie, the future founders of a chain of stores called B&G's One Size Doesn't Fit All--including the amusement park/store somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!