Best friend is someone who sticks closer to us like a sister. Someone who understands you, share in your pain, loss and victory. They want you to grow and become successful.
Today, I will love to write about my best friend Santhosh Priya. She is a friend who has become my sister and a family. She is very intelligent and a very good mathematician. She has a great sense of humor and I love that about her so much. She is very informed and she is a voracious reader. She is someone who challenges me to be a better person on daily basis with her great achievement. She is an Indian from Tamil Nadu and the first child among three children. She currently works with Byjus in Chennai city.
I met Santhosh in July 2014 in the college campus. I just left my home country to India to study, not knowing anyone. After, I finished with all my registration; I was taken to the department and my HOD took me to my class. I felt weird because I was the only foreigner in the class. After that day’s activities many of the students came to me and they all welcomed me. Indians are very hospitable people. After a week I couldn’t cope with the food, language, weather and academics. I felt frustrated and heartbroken. I approached a professor and explained to her my ordeal and she went back to the department to tell other lecturers if they can be of help. My HOD came to the class and asked for those in the hostel and they rose up their hands and she asked who can help me with my studies and Santhosh stood up and agreed to help me. That was how we came to know each other and then we became friends.
She wakes up very early in the morning at about 4:00 am then comes to my room in the international hostel to teach me Mathematics, this she did everyday throughout my first year. She was so patient with me and never got irritated whenever I couldn’t remember the things she taught me the day before. We also had fun times while learning too. We had time to discuss about our families and our cultural backgrounds. At the course of teaching me Mathematics we became very good friends. The first semester result I made 73% and I was very happy and my lecturers we amazed at my performance knowing how poor I was in Mathematics when I came. The second semester I made 82% and I was used as an example to challenge other students. After my first year, I picked up and starting flowing very well in the class. I owe all these achievements to Santhosh for her sacrifice and efforts to take me remedial classes in Mathematics until I began to flow. From second year we became reading partners.
She is very good in theoretical aspect of Mathematics while in very good in applied aspect of Mathematics and Statistics. I explained to her the ones she couldn’t understand and she would do the same to me. Mathematics brought us together and we became good friends then turned sisters. Santhosh thank you so much for all you did for me, I won’t forget it in a jiffy.
Our friendship endured because we understood our differences and we apologize to each other when we offend. We both have listening ears and we talk about our differences and resolve issues.
There is no particular best moment with Santhosh but every moment is special in its own way. She is someone I love to be with because I learn something new whenever I sit with her and discuss. The times we hit the gym, play badminton, sit and argue about politics and celebrity gossip all are special moment I won’t take for granted. On Sundays we hangout to the best vegetarian restaurant in the city to eat our favourite dish, Idili and coconut chetney. All the moment I spent with Santhosh are dear to me and I can’t point out which is the best moment.
Its been 8 years of blissful friendship and I pray the friendship grow and continue till old age.