THE TRIO (2001)

There’s a running joke between us 3 that I have a terrible memory.

‘Shani, do you remember such and such from high school?’... ‘Girl, no’.

I’m slowly learning that when your nervous system lives in a constant state of chaos, it interrupts the memory process.

High school definitely has more pockets of memories for me than my younger years. By that time I had already built up an armor from years of struggle and was fighting back against the traumatic circumstances of life. I was in an “I’ll be damned” state of mind and refused to be the product of my environment. I had applied to Booker T. Washington High School and was one of two people who got in from my middle school. Destiny. I can’t even imagine where I would be if my journey hadn’t twisted in that direction. Or if I didn’t meet both of them. 

I can’t remember the exact moment where we connected. I just remember Spanish class. Writing notes back and forth. I remember being in Algebra and being told “if you want to talk to any upperclassmen let me know, my sister is a senior”. I remember driving us to see boys at a nearby college, listening to Tha Carter and my car hydroplaning off the side of the road while I took my hands off the wheel and we held each other while screaming bloody murder thinking it was all over for us. We swore that album was cursed. I remember sharing every single high school moment with both of them. Winter formals and proms. Beyonce’s blue album. Our first, second and third jobs. Little toxic teenage relationships. So many fist fight stories. We each had our individual teenage things that we were trying to survive. And while we did hang out with a larger group of friends, those two were putting their stamps on my heart forever. The rest has really been history.

I’ve been able to be the most vulnerable with them. They have seen the ugliest stages of me, from the nastiest attitudes, to overstepping my boundaries, to trying to control every single thing and forcing my opinions of their lives onto them. They never left me. And I hope they’ve forgiven me in the process. I believe they have. They were the first mothers I got to witness up close and personal. I still get teary eyed thinking about how I moved away 20 years ago and in all my many visits back home, I have had a room at their houses every single time. And how all of our kids are building their own relationships. 

25 years of friendship. 25 years of sisterhood. 25 years of changing, shifting and riding the waves of this life together. God really reimbursed me from all the dysfunctional family drama and gifted me with them. I would choose them in every single lifetime. 

There is absolutely nothing that can happen to make me believe they'd ever not have me covered from top to bottom. And I would do everything for them also.

Trio things.