November is a month in which we rejoice in the comforts of cooler weather, sweaters, and lots of good food. November paves the way to Thanksgiving, a holiday where we are able to stop and count our blessings, expressing gratitude for the ones we love. Two seniors, Chloe Peacock and Ericka Wallin, have been best ginger friends for four years and are going to celebrate each other this Thanksgiving as a part of Grass Burr’s Thanksgiving column: ‘Friends we are Thankful For.’
Despite the two girls only knowing each other for a brief four-year period, they have made the most of their time together in high school, doing simple, but enjoyable things.
“When we hang out we normally watch movies or something like that. We do random things depending on our moods but we always have fun together,” Ericka said.
No matter what the two girls end up doing together, the best moments lie in the simple points in their friendship.
“We talk about life and stuff that’s been going on in our world. We watch movies and eat ice cream. We like to keep it simple,” Chloe said.
Though their friendship is relatively new in comparison to friendships that span across decades of time, the two have had many memorable times together.
“My favorite memory with Chloe was when we tried to braid our hair together like in those cute friendship pictures on Instagram, but it turned out to be incredibly difficult to walk or even turn our heads. We ended up laughing uncontrollably,” Ericka said.
For Chloe, she thrives off of Ericka’s friendly pushes to take risks and enjoy life unapologetically.
“[Once] Ericka and I rode in her car together [to the school’s haunted house] and the whole way to the high school I was trying to talk Ericka out of going and just skipping, but she refused to. The whole car ride was just filled laughter because I was going crazy and Ericka was telling me to calm down because we were going,” Chloe said.
With such amazing memories, it’s no surprise that their friendship remains so strong and that they have such a deep appreciation for one another.
“Chloe is unique all by herself, so choosing one thing I love about her is not hard, but the thing that comes to mind is her determination. Whether it was getting an A on a physics test or getting back into soccer after she tore her ACL, Chloe never gives up,” Ericka said.
This appreciation is reciprocated as Chloe and Ericka both work together to persevere through the stresses of everyday life.
“I’m thankful for Ericka because she helps me get through a lot of my problems and she is really easy to talk to about those kinda things,” Chloe said.
As seniors, clinging to the final days when every moment is spent together is important to Chloe and Ericka as they set their sights on The University of the Ozarks and Texas A&M, a bittersweet separation.
“She’s about to travel to Arkansas for college while I stay here in Texas, so I sincerely hope that our friendship will last. I can not even imagine not having her in my life, so we will definitely be calling, texting, and Facetiming each other every day,” Ericka said.