Before we get to their interview, I’ll tell you a
few details about each of the lovely ladies!
Kim is married to her other best
friend Chae Song and is a University of Houston graduate. (I know that this
article is about Kim and Grace, but I can’t help mentioning that Chae creates
amazing shirts and hats as CEO of Rhinestone Empire located in Houston. Feel free to message or e-mail for more
details) She is
passionate about fitness, creativity, and her family. Grace has recently earned
her masters in forensic science and can’t wait to travel in all her new free
time. She loves being active and
social.
Without further adieu, the
interview!
_I have a very specific
memory of meeting my best friend, so I’m always curious to know when and where
did ya'll meet?
Kim: The first time I met Grace was at Dave and
Busters. It was either late 2005 or early 2006. Actually, I have no clue. Grace
would know the timeline better than me because I have no sense of time, haha! I
had dropped by DNB to meet up with a mutual friend and was introduced to her.
We didn’t start hanging out until months later when a mutual friend, Alin,
started bringing her when we hung out. It was short lived because I went into
hermit mode a few months after and stopped hanging out with Grace, Alin, and
the group. Even though it was short lived, it was definitely INTENSE. Intense
in a good way, not intense like there was a ton of tension. What I mean by
intense is that, I saw Grace and Alin almost every day! It would be safe to say
I saw them 13 out of 14 days!
Grace: We met in 2006 at a time when
I was dating Kim's high school ex-boyfriend. I was starting college and we
didn't actually hang out until around the end of 2007 when we had a mutual
friend ask us both to hang out. We have always been in each other's circle of
friends since meeting, but we didn't start getting close until about 2009 when
we reconnected after both being distant from the mutual friends group.
_When did you know you were best friends?
Kim: So when did I realize
Grace and I were going to be best friends? I don’t think there ever was a point
where I thought, “She’s going to be my best friend.” It just happened. One day
not too long ago, while we were in Vegas last week to be exact, I got drunk off
my ass and told Grace for the first time everrrr that she was my best friend.
It’s always been a hard thing for me to admit having a “best friend” because it
comes with a ton of responsibility and expectations. Having a best friend is
the same thing as telling the person you’re in a relationship with that you
love them. It’s hard because you’re afraid you’ll get hurt. In the end, you
make a conscious decision that this person is worth the risk of getting hurt so
that you can allow the relationship to grow.
_What is your favorite
trait about each other?
Grace: I love how honest Kim is with
me and I admire how knowledgeable she is about life, art, and photography. The
advice I've received from Kim about the numerous life situations that I have
had to face in my lifetime have proved beneficial to me and become lessons that
I am glad to have learned from her.
Kim: Grace
has many great characteristic traits, but I would have to say there is one
particular trait that I admire the most. Grace is by far the most loyal person
I know. If she’s your friend, and I mean REALLY your friend, she will always
stand by you and completely have your back. If someone says ANYTHING about me
that she KNOWS I won’t like, she would stand up for me without batting an eye
regardless if I’m there or not. I trust that she will have my best interest in
mind on matters that concerns me. That’s not something you see much of these
days. Other great things about Grace are that she’s always open and honest with
her feelings so you know at point blank what you’re dealing with you, she is
also really good at admitting when she’s wrong and apologizing, and she smiles
a lot which makes her extremely approachable and easy to confide in. Grace is
just a really fun person to be around!
_I know ya’ll have done a lot
together, so this question may be difficult to answer. What is the greatest adventure you have ever
gone on as friends?
Grace: Physically, I think our
greatest adventures are traveling to different cities and states together and
enjoying vacation time together. Mentally and emotionally, I would have to say
learning more about ourselves because of each other as we grow is one of our
greatest adventures that we are still continuously going on.
Kim: There’s been so many... but the one that comes to mind right
now (and probably because it’s one of the most recent) was when we went to New
York and learned how to snowboard together for the first time. It was fun
trying to figure things out and helping each other figure out how the bloody
sport works! I think it’s one of the few adventures we’ve been on where we
didn’t drink a ton of alcohol so we were pretty sober throughout the entire
trip. Hahaha I just realized that Grace has always been my drinking buddy! But
it was different on the New York trip because there was very little alcohol
involved :)
_What makes your friendship work?
Kim: I don’t know the right word, but I will have to say
judge-lessness. Every time I talk to Grace, and I know every time she comes to
me about problems she’s having, we have never been judgemental of each others
actions. I might not agree with her actions and vice versa, but we have always
understood and accepted those actions as a part of who the other person is. I
think it made a really nice fertile ground for our friendship to grow. It was
easy for us to run to each other about issues we’re facing because we know that
the other person wouldn’t judge us. It’s refreshing! Eventually we helped each
other resolve through the issues and then nothing but good times followed!
Grace: I think our ability to
understand how each of us are as individuals as far as personality, likes, and
dislikes go help make our friendship work. We accept the way we each are and we
try to consider each other's feelings as if they were our own.
_ Do you do anything to celebrate your friendship?
Kim: Haha, we celebrate our friendship all the time! We use to
have dinner dates and we’d drink sake bombs together. Each times we made a
cheers, it was usually to our awesome friendship! It has been a while because
we’ve been really busy with group activities, but I have to admit, I do miss it
when it was just us two. It doesn’t bother me though because I know they’ll be
a TON of opportunities for it in the future :) Heck, this questionnaire will
probably initiate another dinner date!
Grace: We haven't done anything to officially
celebrate our friendship, but we have toasted to ourselves and the things we do
together with a couple of drinks at various times.
_ What should people know about you
and why friendships should play a role in every person's life.
Grace: Family and friendships are
two of the most important relationships in my life. They are who supports me
when I feel the rest of the world is against me when love fails, when education
plans don't go the way I want them to, when career decisions plague my mind.
They help me learn more about who I am and grown into who I want to be in the
future.
Kim: Simple. Friendships lifts us up where we belong! Where
eagles fly on a mountain high! :) Haha but in all seriousness, my friends are
all very dear to me even if I’m not good at verbalizing it. Sometimes, it’s
hard to tell because I can be very difficult and harsh with my words and
actions. There was a quote I came upon a while back, ironically while looking
for a birthday present for Grace, that sums it all up for me. It really hits
the nail on the head... real good! “Friends are the family we choose.” I have a
lot more expectations from my friends because of this. With family, they’re
stuck with me because they HAVE to (well, sorta). With friends, they’re with me
because they choose to and that’s something I’ll always cherish.
That’s the end of the interview with
two of the coolest girls I know. I
absolutely love Kim’s eloquence in explaining why it is so hard to declare
someone as your best friend. I’ve always
felt some level of anxiety about that and her words helped me understand
why. I’d like to thank Grace and Kim for
opening up about themselves and their friendship! They have inspired me to be more adventurous
and to toast to my awesome friendships more!
Feel free to leave comments and
or questions for Grace and Kim below!
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