The Bond - My Sistah Kim

(Left: Kim, and Right: Me.... this is what it's usually like when we're together...)

One of the most important sistahs in my life is a woman named Kim. The first time I met her I was scared that she was going to beat me up because she had a blunt nature about her, and at school she was all focus, so I never saw her smiling or fooling around. She sat down next to me on the bus one day and said “I like your hair” without even making eye contact. I thanked her and prayed that she wouldn’t hurt me. She in fact, became my best friend. We worked as a team in classes and flew through the courses with ease. We bonded at school and I came to have her home as my second home. We partied together, prayed together, and evaluated each other’s relationships. She is the voice of reason for me. She has always been the level-headed friend who can take my emotional side down a notch. There is a quote by Toni Morrison that says:

"She is a friend of mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order. It's good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind."

This is what she does for me. I can call her, when I am a big ball of emotions and she will sort through them for me and tell me how I should feel. She is that rock of realism that cuts through the daily bull to get to the real issue. Every woman needs a rock like her.

            

Aside from being my rock, she was also my protector. She was wary about every man’s intentions with me. She kept me from danger. She watched out for me when I was destructive and didn’t want to watch out for myself. She is still the sistah I call when I need to work through something I’m feeling, or before I make a big move in my life. I depend on her opinion to bring me balance.

(Left: Me and Right: My Kimmy)

I can remember one occasion when we were at a bar and a fight broke out. Kim was the one who sent my inexperienced self to the bar to get her a drink, knowing that there was a big line up and it would take me a while to get through to get it. By the time I made it back to where the fight had broken out, the fight was over, Kim had handled it, and I was standing there with zero damage holding her drink. This is the kind of protection she has always given me. I don’t think I could possibly offer the same kind of love and support to her, but I have tried. I still try to evaluate what I can possibly offer to someone who is so strong and independent and the only thing I can ever come up with is love.