From Barbie dolls to AP Literature, Molly Collins ’12 and Lauren Wessan ’12 have been inseparable since their friendship began at the ripe age of three years old, or as Wessan claims, “since before the dinosaurs.”
“In preschool, I was playing on the monkey bars, and I guess I just always gave her death glares,” Collins said. “One day we just started talking, and we became friends.”
“Molly always decided to glare at me across the playground – quite the friendly one she is,” Wessan said, giving her side of the story. “Apparently I confused her looks of utter hatred for ‘let’s be friends,’ and the world has never been the same.”
Collins’ and Wessan’s friendship has lasted from childhood through their years in high school, as displayed by their abundance of photos together.
“There is the famous picture of us after a ballet recital where Molly was going through her ‘I do not enjoy smiling phase’—it lasted from age 5 to 18,” Wessan said. “I am smiling enough for the two of us, and that pretty much describes our friendship.”
Jillian Pecoriello ’12 and Callie Hiner ’12, best friends since they met at a mommy/baby class, also cherish their photos from over the years.
Hiner said that she has multiple pictures of Pecoriello and her dressed up for Halloween from each year of their friendship. “We were even pictured in the Westport News for the Halloween parade. We were both in our respective costumes, and I was stealing her lollipop.”
Similar to Collins and Hiner, Christina Kelly ’12 said that she loves her long-time best friend Jackie Gazerro ’12, whom she met in preschool.
“I don’t remember having a moment when I realized that we were best friends,” Kelly said. “To me, it’s like asking, ‘Was there a specific moment when you realized that your sister was your sister?’ It doesn’t make sense because the answer is always. There’s never been a time when she wasn’t my best friend.”
Gazerro feels the same way, finding it impossible to imagine life without Kelly. Gazerro mentioned being affected when a guest speaker at the Grim Reaper Day presentation spoke of crashing a car and killing her best friend, who was in the passenger seat.
“I was sitting next to Christina at the time and I looked over at her,” Gazerro said. “Even trying to imagine being in that situation, I realized how I really couldn’t live without her. Moments like that are when I recognize how much she truly means to me.”
With graduation quickly approaching, Collins, Wessan, Kelly, Gazerro, Hiner, and Pecoriello are all confident that they will keep their relationships with their best friends completely intact.
“Jackie’s my best friend. She’s my sister, my other half,” Kelly said. “You don’t just stop being someone’s sister. No matter how hard you try you can’t just break that bond.”
