When did you realize you were friends?
Chase Finney: Um, I have no idea. I can’t remember anything between camp Yale and the end of first semester. Like, it might’ve been after FroCo orientation, but I’m not sure. It doesn’t feel like it was that soon because I know I was friends with Ariana. We would do everything together.
Kelsey Tamakloe: Yeah. ‘Cause I remember you guys would hang out a lot and then, one time, I think I noticed that you guys first came to duty. You guys never came to the first week of duty and then when we were doing like the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday duties. That’s when I noticed that you guys were coming often, like more. At least for me, I didn’t know when, but I knew that I wanted to be your friend, especially after the CC slam poetry event where you did the poem from 21 jump street. I was like, this girl is funny and I want to be her friend. And then the universe listened for once and then it just sort of aligned. I found out that we were in Saybrook together and then we were also in the same FroCo group. Like I think one of the only Black people in our FroCo group. Right?
CF: Yeah. There aren’t many Black people in Saybrook.
KT: Yeah. So I think naturally then…I think eventually we became friends.
CF: Yeah. It was probably somehow through duty. ‘Cause it used to be what, like me, you Ariana and Dara, right? So I feel like that squad formulated through duty probably like mid-semester.
How is your friendship different from the other friendships you have here?
CF: I don’t really go over to other people’s places unannounced. (laughs) And like, I feel like I can be more myself around you. I see you as more of like a sibling or like you and Selorm, which is why I’m also harsher, and I shouldn’t be because that’s how I am with my brother and we just… we clash. But, yeah, I think the main difference is having someone that you see as basically a sibling, family.
KT: I do notice that you’re more likely to just randomly show up, which I’m fine with, you know. Sometimes it’s a surprise, but like a good one. But yeah, I confide in you a lot more than I confide in others. Or you sense when something’s wrong with me. I don’t think other people do that. You do it better than other people at least. When I don’t come to you or tell you anything, you’ll still ask what’s wrong and you’ll have to coax it out of me. So I think that’s also like the biggest difference—who I come to. You’re one of the only people that I come to for help and to talk about like serious issues.
What are characteristics or mannerisms that you have picked up from each other?
KT: For me, I didn’t watch a lot of TV when I was younger—especially cartoons—and all of a sudden my favorite TV show is The Amazing World of Gumball, and I have you to thank because I didn’t watch it at all until I watched the one episode called “The Candidate” and I was like, this is a good show. I was really surprised. And now I think I take most of your suggestions of TV to watch. And like, it turns out to be a good thing ‘cause you do have a good taste in humor and just general entertainment, especially TV.
But also I think you’re like a trend-setter. I didn’t say “Hwello” like how you say it. It’s very funny, so now I started saying it. One time, back home, we had a blackout in my neighborhood. And all of a sudden, all the lights turned off in my house, and I was upstairs by myself. And I knew my mom and my brother were downstairs. And I walked down the stairs. In the midst of all the darkness, I was like, “Hwello.” And my mom laughed when she heard how I said that. So that’s at least what I think.
CF: I don’t think I talk with my hands as much as before. I bet you that I talk with my hands a lot now, and I know that you do this a lot. Also the dance, like whenever I was (does iconic Kelsey dance move), Serena is like “that’s Kelsey.” Yeah. But it’s just like a basic dance move. You can do it to most things. You know, so I think a lot of like physical mannerisms, not so much like characteristics.
What is one thing you love about each other?
CF: I love that you care very deeply about the people that you’re close with and are not afraid to show them that you love them in whatever way. Mostly I think your thing is like giving gifts to them.
KT: Yeah. When I was showering you with gifts, you were like, “can you just stop?”
CF: It was stressing me out. Like, I can’t. I can’t reciprocate in the same way. I’m not very good at giving gifts. So.
KT: No, that’s fair. When I’m giving gifts it’s more just like I see something, and I think about that person. I’m like, “this person would enjoy this.”
CF: But then like how do I, how do I reciprocate that? That was one of the things that I had also talked to Selorm about very briefly. He was like, “yeah, like I think she just feels like a lot of her friends don’t value her in the same way that she values them.” And so I was like, “okay, well, I don’t know how” ‘cause I know that you like—at least a physical form of value—giving gifts or doing something like that. But I don’t know how to do that other than quality time. ‘Cause that’s my main thing.
KT: My thing to show love is I guess giving gifts, but the way I receive love is through the idea of quality time. So, like, I don’t like blatant compliments from people, but I like when someone will randomly say something nice to me, you know? And that makes my day, you know?
One thing I love about you is your humor. I think that’s what you said about yourself. You love your humor, and I think you’re really great at making friends.Your humor was the one thing that drew me in, I guess.
Your style is pretty great too. Also, I like your ambition. You’ll just decide to do like MMA fighting, right. Or BAR or yoga or like, go to Thailand, you know? I feel like I’m a very boring person as in just like, I’m okay staying in one place and doing things, you know? But you like to go out and experience things, which is cool. I admire that.
How do you think you’ve grown these years?
KT: I think you’re more assertive now than you were first-year. I think all first-years are very passive and like, going through a new experience. You just don’t know what to do and you’re, like, nervous, but now you’re a lot more confident and more assertive.
CF: I feel like you were mature, even for a first-year. When I would go to you for advice, it would be very helpful. So I’m trying to think of what, aside from that. I feel like confidence is the very noticeable one. I think you’re very confident about who you want to spend your time with. You’re very decisive about it, which I still am trying to get better at. It’s just good to know who your friends are. I guess part of college is like whittling down acquaintances. I think you still become very good at holding onto a core group of people throughout the four years and not really having come-and-go friends.
Do you think your friendship could last a lifetime or at least after college?
CF: I think it could last after college. Because at least one of the things that I noticed with my high school friends is that I had nothing in common with them, aside from the fact that we went to school together. Even when we were taking different classes, it was like, “Okay what are we? Like what do we talk about? I have no idea. What do we hang out over?” And we have mutual interests. Obviously, Yale is a bubble, but, I don’t know, if you’re gonna be going to New York—that’s just Yale 2.0. I am really bad at keeping in touch with people though. I feel like, over the summers, it’s very hard for me to stay in touch with people. And after graduation, it’s just gonna be really bad.
KT: I am also really bad at keeping in touch with people, but I think you’re better at it than I am, at least. I remember over the summer and also over the pandemic, we would hang out and watch something on Zoom, or you would text me something or send me those comics on Instagram. So I was really banking on the fact that you’ll respond, and then I’ll just have to answer back. Because when it comes to long-distance relationships, I’m really bad at communicating online and through social media. I do think that, obviously, our friendship will change after college. But, I think it’ll still have the same value as it has now. Our friendships and what it means, I think at least maybe, will last a very long time, maybe even a lifetime. And yeah, it just will definitely change, but I still think it will still have meaning.
Kelsey Tamakloe ‘22
