You've Got Nina!

A couple of Friars on a beautiful day!

There are some people you have in life and whether you see them every day or every year, when you're with them, you do nothing but smile and laugh! The Friars of Old are probably the most important people in my life, whether they know it or not. And we all use that term (except for Kristin Barrett) to describe our long term crew. We all started martial arts together and have shared very real life experiences, and many real life lessons.

One of those individuals is Nina. I met Nina at my old master's school when I was a low red belt. I was only training two years when she came onto the scene. We trained together, taught together, performed together, and competed together. Within the Friars, the best way to describe how Nina and I were I guess can be described as Phoebe and Joey from Friends. We were clueless about a lot of well known things, naive in a few senses, but were goofy and laughing all the time! We had such fun!

Nina is brilliant, and would always look to the future. She holds very high expectations for herself (I guess martial arts had something to do with that) and she is very ambitious. She went to the Bergen Academies for high school, scored like 4893748937498 on her SATs, attended George Washington University in Washington D.C, and is now at UMDNJ medical school (are those the right letters?!). I am so proud of Nina and she works really hard and getting all the experience and opportunities that she has been working for a long time.

We used to see each other every day at our martial arts school and totally involved in each others lives. Then as we got older and graduated from high school, off to college, we went on separate paths but as I did with all the Friars, I always kept in touch, to the point where we knew EXACTLY everything going on in each others lives as if we were there for it all. Every week Nina and I would send emails to each other. I used to say we had the "You've Got Mail" relationship (referring to the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan Move/ NO not Sleepless in Seattle!). Well I had the "You've Got Nina" treat in my life.

Nina and I at a Broadway play in 2009

I visited her in her apartment after much time of promising to visit and I FINALLY had a chance to go one morning. Between my hectic and crazy life, and her insane med school regimen, it was a miracle we found this time together! I went and sat in her living room and I couldn't help but reminisce. Wow. So much the two of us have gone through in our lives and we really were there for every part of it. I remember the phone calls from the old bedroom to her when I lived with my parents catching up on training and high school, or the night calls from my home office from my old apartment living on my own and attempting to open my own school, or the phone calls from TMAFC as I paced back and forth on the mats, to the late phone calls today when I am home alone in bed.

And I remember all the phases she's been through from applications to colleges, off to D.C and different jobs and huge exams she had to take, to med school interviews and plans for her future, to the different rotations and surgeries she experienced, to different doctors she has been exposed to, to her sister getting married and moving to Germany, her parents redoing her old childhood home, I remember it all as if I were actually there.

Reflecting on all the time we have had our friendship and worked so hard to be involved in all the awesome things we were doing in our lives, and how proud we are for our accomplishments for each other, that in itself shows how important our friendship means to us. But one thing always remained the same from every time ever in all the phases I went through either in my old bedroom, or my apartment office, my car, or dojang, is that when I would hang up, I would always cry and tear up. Not always because I was sad to hang up, but because of how much I miss seeing her and knowing the mutual friendship we have is so important. What a great feeling.

During our visit, catching up on the wonderful things going on in our lives today, I was talking about all the new martial arts training I am doing, Sifu, Qi work, business projects, etc, and she gave me a simple, yet so important compliment to me. "Andrew (she's one of the few who call me by first name), we all did martial arts, but you are truly a martial artist." I don't know why, but that meant a lot to me. A special kind of validation or endorsement. But martial arts not only gave me the skills I possess, or the lessons I hold dear to my heart, but lifelong friends like Nina, and I am so grateful.

Nina, I love you and am so proud of you. I can see us 5, 10, 15, 30 years from now, continuing to do what we have always done and be so happy and excited for each other to see what our next move is in our exciting journeys. Thank you for the many years of wonderful friendship, and support in all I do, knowing the Friars are just as important to you as to me. It's always a treat and delight when I open my email and my computer saying to me "You've Got Nina!" And guess what, you always got me too ;) . (BOWS)

Nina and I in 2007 celebrating my high school graduation

Yours in service,
MASTER TRENTO