Amber

A Story by Breara

I had to write a descriptive essay about someone I knew. I chose the most colorful person in my world.

Amber Dawn Strezze has been my best friend for years. She's the one that always wears the goofy clothes, dyed her hair a million colors, and knows everyone she sees. When I first met her, I was slightly overwhelmed at how “different” she purposely made herself. Appearances aren't important to her, even though she is quite critical of those outside her circle of friends.
She was one of the shortest in our graduating class, but it never seemed to bother her. Being “vertically challenged” seemed to be more of an asset to her than a burden. Along with being short, she has tiny hands and tiny feet.
After graduation, she moved to Cleveland to be with her family and attend college. I'm amazed at how well she's doing...especially since she has some of the worst grammar I've heard in a while (I call that her “East Liverpool grammar”). But like her height, she doesn't make it a burden. "Her Amberness", as my mother so lovingly called her, would constantly make fun of herself after I'd remind her for the thousandth time that she wasn't being “pacific,” but instead being “specific.”
Amber is deathly afraid of ladybugs. Usually her reaction to seeing one is to scream and run away. Personally, I think it's hilarious, although she doesn't. At least, not until well after the encounter.
Even though she is my best friend, it doesn't make her immune to my constant picking. Especially about her fear of such harmless little creatures.
She'd much rather be called Aam, but I've never picked up that habit. She hates it when someone calls her “emo,” because according to her, she is not “emo.” After a fight with a friend, she's the kind of person to pick up where the friendship left off and pretend like the fight never happened. Amber's constantly confused, and sometimes I have to explain things in baby steps.
Like every human being on the planet, Amber has her faults. She's made her mistakes, and admitted to them. She's had a hell of a past, but it fazes her minimally. When you add everything up, I wouldn't trade her for the world. She's my best friend. And I love her for everything that's “wrong” with her, as well as for everything that's “right.”