BBQ with Friends

This week, my American friend Kye turned nineteen. To celebrate, Kye, Nayeon, and I went to Cowboy BBQ on Westheimer.

I had eaten there once last year, and for some reason the taste stayed with me ever since. Honestly, the food was not as fresh as I remembered. But the moment the first plate reached our table, that familiar flavor came rushing back, and somehow that was enough. Between bites, our conversation drifted to the one topic none of us can escape right now, college applications. We swapped updates on essays and deadlines, and I realized that even the most stressful part of this year feels lighter when you share it with people who understand.

After dinner, we made a quick stop at Target. The plan was simply to buy glue for slime. But then Kye wandered over to the makeup aisle and surprised us. Kye never buys makeup, and that night was the first time Kye ever asked us for a makeup lesson. We walked out with a bottle of glue and a brand new concealer, and I felt oddly proud, as if we had just been trusted with something important.

Back at the house, we moved everything onto the table and huddled together, three pairs of hands mixing and stretching until the slime finally turned soft and perfectly stretchy. For a while, nobody mentioned deadlines. It was just glue on our fingers and laughter filling the room.

Moving across the world taught me that home is not always a place. Sometimes it is a familiar taste, even from a restaurant that is only okay. Sometimes it is a friend from a completely different background asking you to teach them something new. And sometimes it is just three people around a table, making something silly together and calling it a celebration.

Happy nineteenth, Kye. Thank you for letting me be part of it.