Person 16: Rochelle

Rochelle and I met for the very first time when I recieved a packaged as a freshman and she was the desk attendant working that handed it to me. The first words exchanged between us were:
Rochelle: Oh, you're from Oxnard? I'm from Newberry Park.
Me: Oh.
You see, Oxnard is about 30 minutes away from Newberry Park. And Oxnard is the ghetto, whereas Newberry Park is a very nice area. So I hated her because she was from Newberry Park and probably rich. Well, she's not. And she's not stuck up, either. Which is great. And probably why I love her. And that summer we ended up becoming pretty good friends if you know what I mean.

Rochelle has fun all the time. How do you not have fun when Rochelle is around? She also cares about the people around her. She has tons of friends. Literally. Tons. She writes letters to missionaries. She dances like nobody's watching, especially her signature booty shake. She shares her talents. And she actually fesses up to liking music by people such as Miley Cyrus, while I'm really reserved about doing so.

I've learned from Rochelle to be who you are. Nobody owns themselves but you, and nobody owns themself quite like Rochelle does. Rochelle makes you feel like it's okay to be who you are, even if it's odd, quirky, or awkward. I feel more allowed to be the real Jessica around Rochelle. I feel like Rochelle likes the real Jessica, and sometimes she doesn't but it's okay because that's just how the real Jessica is sometimes.