from an outsider to a best friend

By David M

One year ago, right after the end of quarantine and schools were reopening, Yerba Buena High School freshman Kayla Phan stepped into an unfamiliar setting. College Connection Academy was the doorway to a new chapter in her life and where she would meet two people who would make a significant impact on her experience.

In the summer of 2021, Phan went to College Connection Academy to attend summer school. On her first day there, she was extremely nervous because it was her first time at CCA. For the first few days, she didn’t really have anyone to talk to. It was until she walked into a classroom, where she met a pair of twins who would make a huge impact on Phan’s life.

When Phan first met the twins Johana and Juliana, communication was a bit difficult.

“To be honest, when we first met, we didn’t really talk to each other. The only time I talked to them was to ask them if I could hang out with them during lunch. But other than that, we did not talk to each other,” said Phan.

Although a friendship grew between the three, it was still awkward since the twins didn’t know much about Phan while Phan was the outsider. She joined a duo who knew each other their whole entire lives. This period of awkwardness lasted until somewhere between December and January.

After this period ended, the three girls’ relationship started to grow and they became closer.

“The first few months of school was like iffy; it was, like, awkward since it was new people. But then like, towards the–maybe the beginning, no, maybe December-ish–January. That’s when we became really close…” said Phan.

Now a common problem that people struggle with when meeting identical twins is telling them apart. Phan did struggle with this but she quickly learned how to tell the twins apart. This also taught Phan a valuable lesson which is individuality.

“So basically you know they’re twins and you know how people always compare siblings? ...What makes it even worse it that they’re like twins, so people always think that they are the same person. Which they’re not, they have different personalities and they have different opinions and stuff. So even though they’re like twins and they might look the same, and are related, people are all different.”

One of Phan's most enjoyable experiences for CCA was Halloween Day. Teachers would give out candy and she was able to enjoy the day with her friends.

She considered herself to be super shy around new people, she said. One of her struggles that she had during CCA was a speech she had to perform in her English class. This was something that every eighth grader had to do. However for Phan and every other shy student, this speech was a total nightmare. Fortunately, with the help of her two friends, Phan was able to perform her speech and get that nightmare over with.

At the end of Phan’s experience of CCA, it was time for her to close a chapter of her life. Along with her friends, they were all excited to go to high school. During the ceremony, they sat next to each other.

When you think about it, she started her CCA experience with her sitting with the twins and she ends it with also sitting with them. It does make her friendship even more meaningful.