The History of Shadari - According to Fox
How We First Meet
It had to have been one of those dreamy fantasy worlds when I first meet Shadari - one of those carefree worlds where all our dreams are right in front of our eyes and everything is beautiful. Of course you then wake up in the real world and trip and fall on your butt in a school hallway. Heheh... That's when I meet Shadari.
Shadari would enter my life during a time where my dreams were vivid but unclear - a time where many of us were dealing with the struggle between fantasy and reality. For us, this time happened to be middle school - the orchestra locker hallway to be exact. Cass was a energetic and happy-go-lucky pre-teen who was very into the Spice Girls and hippy outfits. She admitted she wasn't the best violinist in the orchestra, but as long as she was having fun, she always had a smile on here face. She was a dreamer. Me? I was the dorky Asian kid with his head against the lockers. You see, Shadari entered my life during a time where I was pretty downtrodden. I was depressed. Why you ask? It was over a girl of course. Energetic girl meets depressive guy. That makes a good story doesn't it? Well - it actually does. A very good story.
It was eigth grade. We would all soon be going off to high school and were enjoying being the top of the school. In some ways Cass and I were different. I was known as one of the smartest kids ever - one of the top of my class and typical Asian brainiac. She was... well somewhat clumbsy. Shadari was sometimes seen as a silly and absent minded character, but she always had a true and honest heart. In some ways Cass and I were the same. We were both naturally shy, but for some reason that year in our lives we would slowely break out of those shells and become friends.
I had just found out that my first real crush only liked me as a friend. Now honestly being thirteen I highly doubt I understood what that meant. All I knew at the time was that I was hurt and that I was sad. The concept of liking girls was fairly new to me at that time. Although I was considered a bookworm, I was a cute bookworm. My natural kind, caring, and playful attributes naturally attracted girls to me - or so I like to believe today that they did. Going through puberty however and getting new emotions before I could even understand them was not too easy. Heartbroken, I was really down and unsocial for awhile. That's when Cass walked in. To my knowledge, all I really remember was Cass asking me why I was so sad lately. I guess she had noticed me from orchestra class or she thought I was cute, but the most likely explaination was that we both had Rink as our buddy. I think it was odd for me to tell her right then and there that I was depressed over a girl - a cheerleader no doubt that used to be a close friend - so I made up a white lie. I told here that one of my grandfathers had died. Now - to remain honest and ethical here, I wasn't lying. I do have a grandfather who passed away. He just passed away before I was even born. I never meet him. That's not lying right? Either way the excuse would work just fine.
From that day on Shadari would work to give me as much positive attention as she could to cheer me up. Not only did she want to get to know this silly Asian kid, but she was also very curious around him. Cass would ask a new question everyday from what my favorite color was to what the Pokemon cards in my binder were. Soon, being in orchestra and having common interests like Sailor Moon and music brought us together as friends. It wasn't long until I realized I was no longer depressed and that I had just made my first girl best friend.
Being Latina
It just so happened that Shadari is a Latina hottie. Her Hispanic background gave her fun and exotic energy. The thing was that we were only thirteen and didn't really understand what that was like. Shadari was my first close Hispanic friend. I'm friends with a Latina hottie. How cool is that? Way cool. Anyways, Cass would teach me and Rink what it means to be Hispanic. At first we weren't quite sure what it meant except lots of good food, rice milk, jumping on inflatable castles, and playing games which required getting scared, sitting on a sponge, and getting your butt wet. Ooga Booga!
Shadari's cultural influence was revealed at all her fun dance parties that she held. Being her new friend now, I was invited to my first ever dance party. This ladies and gentlemen is where I learned to dance. Sorta. Ok, so here's a shy Asian kid - never really danced in his life. I chickened out in going to my fifth grade dance and once asked a girl to a dance and didn't dance. (Wait, maybe that's why she only liked me as a friend.) For some reason though, Shadari made me believe in myself. It was time to dance. I remeber I always made my older sister take me clothes shopping so I could buy new non-dorky clothes for Shadari's dance parties. I even bought my first bottle of cologne during this time of my life. If I couldn't dance I might as well look good right? So in my nice new threads I made my way to Cass' birthday dance party. To make a long story short so I don't have to embarass myself explaining how I was immitating my mom's dance moves, I learned how to dance. Sorta. With Shadari's encouragement, she got me to shake it with the rhythm and the beat. This was both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because we can now enjoy the fun and excitement of dance together. It's a curse because now I'll even start dancing in the car to one of Cass' Shakira CDs. Well at least you get something right?
Her Quincinera
One of Shadari's proudest moments was her Quincinera - the Spanish equivalent of a Sweet Sixteen ('cept one year earlier) and her tranformation from being a girl to being a young lady. She invited all of her friends to join her celebrate - naturally with another dance party. It would also have to be one of her last dance parties. It was always fun being around her extended family. It reminded me of how I loved being around my extended family. We danced to the music, ate lots of food, played in the bouncy castle with her cousins, and played hide and go seek in the yards. I was getting aquainted with her parents now. Intimidated at first, but I quickly saw them as awesome and fun parents. They were strict, as they should be, but that was an aspect I could easily relate with. This exchange in culture would turn out to be very mutual. Just as I enjoyed learning about her family and culture with awesome dancing and the customs, she would enjoy learning about my family and culture with awesome food and the customs. Somehow through all that custom sharing we were soon turning Japanese. Don't ask how, we don't quite understand it either. The Japanese are just cool. With her Quincinera it was clear that we were all growing up. Soon we would be in high school and becoming adults. Many things would happen that would shake all of us a bit. Our friend Rink would be going to a different high school (not for long though - we were able to gain him back again - yay!) and our different academic goals would split Cass and I for almost a year. We entered our high school years separated - by schools, classes, and even orchestra levels. Seemingly we've bonded so much and from the looks of things it would seem as if our bonding would be much less. Little did we all know - this was only just the beginning.
The Dreams That Unite Us
Although things were quite different in high school - less time together, no more dance parties - our daydreaming nature kept us together throughout the weaker years. I went back to being a brainiac and Shadari went back to being... well Shadari. We were starting to get the hang of this being teenager thing and luckily for us, God gave us computers and the internet. We didn't have any classes together and only had the occasional school functions so AOL instant messenging became our new haven. Not only did we improve on our typing skills over the years, but we also created a healty environment where we could confide in each other - rant, talk about girls and boys, discuss the newest latest cool thing from Japan, and share our deepest thoughts and dreams. We were daydreamers, so there was quite a bit of talking or typing or whatever. Bring! Bring!
Cass soon became my councilor - my advisor in dealing with girls. We shared just about everything with each other. That's what best friends did. Through think and thin - good times and bad - we seemed to always know that we'd be there for each other - a smile to laugh with; a shoulder to cry on. (Not literally since Shad would probably smack me before I could start crying abotu something studpid). Besides all the emotional drama we both had with girls and boys, we began developing more interests together such as music, video games, and animation.
The Music Game
The one major thing that Shadari and I have always shared in common was our love for music - not only from our time together in orchestra, but also outside of class. The music on the radio easily turned into a routine part of our daily escape from the difficulties of being a teen. It wasn't long until we both realized that we listened to the same music. I was not as exposed to music compared to the average teenager. Cass on the otherhand was already well into her love interests in music. From the Spice Girls (still wondering what Cass did with that picture of me superimposed on Posh) and N'Sync to the alternative rock that today captures our hearts and souls, Cass would keep me up to date every step of the way. She has awesome taste too. We slowely were growing out of pop (although we still love pop every much - Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys - what's not to love?). Alternative music turned into our haven - the music we can related to. While many of our peers were into rap, R&B, heavy metal, and hip hop, we were enjoying the lyrics of alternative bands that seemed to always sing exactly how we feel and think - or at least in our own interpretations. Over the years whatever she listened to - I listened to. Whatever bands she liked - I liked. It was really easy since it was all mainstream radio, but at that time I didn't really know anyone that listened to mainstream radio besides Cass and my older sister. Thus the Music Game was born. For fun (or just to waste time) we would randomly type lyrics to each other and see if we could finish off the song. I think Shad was always better at the game than I was, but either way it was a fun way to remember our favorite songs.
The summer after senior year of high school I went to my first real concert that wasn't Disney on Ice or the Las Vegas Phil. As a birthday treat, I went with Shibby and Shadari to see Matchbox Twenty and Sugar Ray. It was wicked awesome! Shad also keeps me updated with music while I am away at college and we're currently working on creating a collection of the best alternative music ever!
The Disney Story
This is the story of Shadari and Disney - at least in my point of view. It isn't hard to notice that anyone who is in love with Disney can easily become my best friend. Shadari loves Disney. The story begins with Puto I guess. It was how Cass pronounced her Pluto toy when she was a kid. ::Insert flashback photo here:: Aw! Isn't she cute? Okies. Anyways, Shadari's favorite princess was of course Princess Jasmine. Fiesty, rebelious, but kind, gentle, and hot. Yeah that describes why Shad would pick Jasmine. She would always complain about how Disney never represented Jasmine as one of the Disney Princesses very well. Just because she didn't wear a big poofy dress like Belle, Aurora, and Cinderella, she was on less merchandise. Aw. So Jasmine and Pluto. I think that's what started it.
The Disneyland Summer Vacation
One Summer, I was able to invite my best friends Shad and Rink to Disneyland with me and my family. It would be our last summer before college and there was nothing better to celebrate our five years of friendship than with a road trip to The Disneyland Resort in beautiful California. We spent a fun week of hijinks and creating a fun memory together enjoying all the rides and theme park fun. The friends also got to enjoy awesome beach time and awesome Vietnamese food. Yummy!
Stitch's Story
Disney's Lilo and Stitch was a classic to us. More or less we fell in love with Experiment 626 - Stitch. I had bought a Stich doll for my little sister and soon everyone was buying Stitch dolls - Rink, Lanie, Shad, and her brother Ale too. We now had a family of Stitch dolls that we shared a bond with. As a parting gift, Rink, Shad, and Lanie got me my own Stitch doll to have. Stitch has been with me ever since and dealing with all the pressures of college.
The Trio
Back to the main history of Shadari, the next chapter of our lives evolved into a true triforce - a strong bond of friendship that joined three of us: Fox, Shadari, and Rink. Rink was the closest to being a brother of similar age to me. My cousins were all younger than me and at the time most of my friends were girls. (Not really a bad thing). With Rink at a different high school his freshman year of high school, this academic rift split me with many of my friends - including Shadari. (This rift explored in the History of Manda).
Not feeling comfortable at his private tech high school, Rink would return to his friends for his sophomore year and reunite the friends. The trio would soon be reborn. It would take awhile before the trio would truly bond into an unbreakable triforce. Sophomore year things would happen that would cause me to break out of my shell of being unspoken and shy. I was still learning a lot about being social and trying to expand my abilities mentally, socially, and emotionally. Shadari was struggling with typical teenage problems - family, friends, and personal ambitions. It was getting difficult to always be dreaming and waking up in reality. Rink was dealing with a lot of his own personal identity issues. He had raised himself as a person of many accomplishments and was one of the top of his class. He had shaped himself into a great scholar, musician, and loyal friend. He was admired by many. Still very shy and locked up - Rink would be held back by his own obstacles. These were the struggles that the trio would go through during our rough times in high school.
As our high school junior and senior years rolled by, the trio experienced a lot more freedom in their lives. All three of us were the most loyal and responsible children around and our parents began to trust them more and more. It wasn't long until each of our parents would trust our friends more than they trusted ourselves. One thing was for sure, fate had brought together a solid group of friends. Rink was the most responsible. As long as I was going somewhere with Rink, it was ok. As long as Shad was going somewhere with me or Rink, it was ok. As long as Rink was going somewhere, it was ok. Lol. We would hang out and have Jamba Juice runs, awesome game nights and each others houses, or go out to catch movies like "X-Men," "The Matrix," and "Lord of the Rings." Together the trio would use this bonding time to appreciate the special relationship we had as friends and all the high school drama we had would begin to be overrided by the power of the triforce.
Reeses Pieces Popcorn
Shadari, Rink, and I would randomly discover one of the best movie snacks ever - Reeses Pieces Popcorn. How did this happen you ask? Well it was quite simple. The trio had gone out on an excursion to watch The Matrix: Reloaded. Now you remember that Shadari is clumbsy right? Alright, picture her opening up a bag of Reeses Pieces and "poof!" it goes flying everywhere! I was able to catch most of it in the popcorn bag and there you have it - Reeses Pieces Popcorn.
The More the Merrier
The strong influence of the triforce would soon reach out to others who respected the special friendship that Shadari, Rink, and I had. The three would turn into many adding cool new characters such as Lanie and ALo. Although the group will continue to grow, I will still strongly remeber the strong bond the trio holds. Somewhere the triforce is still glowing strong.
The Lost Romance
Within the mist of all these happenings whispered the tale of a lost romance. We were all friends, but we were also all dreamers longing to live out the perfect love story. Since we were all talking about our dreams of romance it didn't take long for us to realize that we were all looking for the same things in our dreams. The Lost Romance was born.
The Lost Romance is very mystical in nature since there was nothing quite concrete about any of it. As close friends we were somewhat intimate in nature. It was nothing more than the occasional teasing, but it was enough to create an air of romanticism. Shadari and I continued to hold our love for dance and attended many high school dances with our friends. Rink and Shadari coupled up for many of the dances and I - well I was a playboy and had a number of dates; although I can't quite say it was with anyone more than a friend. That was just always my luck. None of us never found our perfect love story in high school, but one thing was for sure - we loved being around each other. In fact we loved being together so much that we all realized that any romance with Shadari would drastically change our history together. The Lost Romance had faded away. Shadari, Rink, and I grew into a higher state of our friendship - realizing that the love in our friendships were just as strong as any fantisized romance. As long as we had each other we were happy.
School Daze
As with any dreamer, we always had to face the harsh reality that we still had to fight the evils of perpetual life cycles of school and the dreaded homework. Somedays our main motivation to go to school was to see each other. We were all in orchestra together now and I was in many classes with Rink. We had practically become inseparable on campus. So there we were - waiting to finish off high school. We were burried in AP courses and were swimming for a way out of our frustrating cycle of life. We managed to keep ourselves occupied still feeding our imaginations and dreamer side of us with video games and anime like Love Hina. Rink and I were soon comparing Cass to Naru - being the one to throw something at us or punch us into the sky.
We were all really changed people compared to when we meet. Shadari was a lot more responsible now. She had realized what her goals in life were and was going to work her way towards them. I had become a very strong leading figure - enjoying my role as the president of my orchestra coucil and taking executive responsibilites. Shad and Rink were strong members of my staff and we realized how well we work together. We still dream that someday we might be able to start a business together - maybe a design corporation or something creative like manga artists. With our will power and our continuous dreaming - anything is possible.
Escape in the World of Web Building.
To deal with our School Daze, Shadari would introduce me into the world of web building. I had gotten into website building during high school after a world history project (Vietnam Venture) however seeing Cass' awesome webpages made me want to push my abilities even further. Soon I was learning html and learning about frames and advanced html with the help of Cass. Her website were always ten steps ahead of mine, but essentially I reached a comfortable balance with what I wanted my site to be like. Shadari had already been blogging for quite some time giving herself an outlet to speak her mind. I was quite lost withing the daze of school and it wasn't long until I began my own web journal. At first I used it as a place to just speak my mind of what's been happening in my life, but it soon turned into a detailed documentation of my life. There were some communication problems during the school daze. We would get so caught up that sometimes we wouldn't have the chance to really talk to each other. I used my blog as a way to speak to Shadari and Rink. I wanted it to be a place where I could speak to everyone in my life. It may be true that reading a blog isn't as deep as hearing it in person, but Shadari, Rink, and I are naturally shy. There are certain things that we can only seem to say in words on a screen than with our voices. It wasn't long until all three of us had our own website and blogs where we could always know what each other were thinking about. It was a way we could always keep in touch during our busy lives. Thanks to technology we could always know when someone was happy or sad. With the blogs we knew we were always talking to a friend - that a friend would always be there to hear your story. As we set up these sites and forums we knew we were preparing them for when we'd actually be apart from each other. Graduation was coming near and we would soon have to face separation.
Separation
Our graduation day eventually came and I would soon leave Shadari and Rink to continue my studies away from home. There was a lot of question on where the trio would now go. It would be a major test of faith. We spent that last summer before college hanging out like old times. In the back of our minds we were wondering to ourselves if it would be our last summer like that together. I had the feeling that we would have many more summers to come. All that was left was trust.
Believing That Our Dreams May Come True
I came back home during my winter and spring breaks. Shadari was one of the first to come see me - visiting me often during winter break. She even hung out with me and my sisters on Christmas Day. We played Mario Kart Double Dash and a lot of other fun games. In trust, our friendship didn't change with our abscence. Our lives were finally shaping out as we lived out our first year of college. Shadari was intent on going for her dreams at studying photography. I on the other hand was still fuzzy. I had been intent on pursuing medicine and science, however my studies quickly made me realize that I wasn't following my dreams and what I wanted to do with my life deep down inside. It was a major sacrifice for me to give up my studies in science, but with the strength I had from my friends, I knew that there was something else out there that I wanted to do. For me, it all started with a mouse. Shadari's pursuit in reaching her creative goal of studying photography and visual arts helped me realize that I can reach my true dream as well. Starting next semester I will be enrolled in the business college with hopes that someday I'll be able to work with the mouse and the Disney corporation. Sure it sounds a bit farfetched, but I have an awesome plan all laid out. If anything else I can always start a company with Rink!
Enough about me though, I really couldn't have gone this far without my friend Shadari. She'll be studying in beautiful California soon - aiming to finally meet her dream fantasy with reality. I have faith that she will find her dreams. As long as we always have the support of our family and friends, we can continue to believe that our dreams may come true.