By Jacqueline Yan ’24 Managing Editor of the 117th Masthead
Walking into my Introduction to Sociology classroom for the first time, I knew I was in for a ride. I scanned the faces that patiently waited for our teacher, Mr. Timothy Yun, to appear, and mentally prepared myself for a course filled with fiery debates and clashing personalities. I was correct. Over the course of the term, we learned about the urinal rule, compared the female and male gaze, analyzed Nicki Minaj’s music videos, were assigned to speak in funky accents, and more.
Yet, out of all the crazy conversations that took place in Humanities Room 302, one topic of debate has lingered in my mind. During our unit on the social construction of groups, we discussed group dynamics and how the number of people in a group can affect its stability.
When Mr. Yun’s slideshow stated that a triad, a three-person group, is more stable than a dyad, a two-person group, I angered half the class by agreeing that triads are some of my most treasured friendships at Choate. Although it is not a widely shared opinion, my trio friendships truly have been the ones I have clung to most tightly.
Puellae Probae Latinae (Lauren Hsu ’24 and Lauren Kee ’24)
I met my first trio during my freshman year in Latin 100. I don’t remember the exact details of how we became friends, but I suppose the friends you pick up along the way end up being the best ones.
Our first meeting took place at an Italian restaurant tucked neatly across the street from Pacific Place, a popular shopping center in Hong Kong. I happened to be in the city during that strange period of freshman winter when Choate students took online classes, so the three of us planned to meet up in person.
The restaurant, Grappa’s, had a cute, rustic interior. I had just eaten lunch there with my parents a few days before, so I knew exactly what I wanted to order — the famous Fettuccine Nere (squid-ink pasta). I was the first to arrive, and while waiting, I fidgeted anxiously with the neatly pressed napkin in front of me, nervous about meeting my first friends from Choate. Now, I think back and laugh at the order in which we arrived: Lauren Hsu, ever punctual, arrived at exactly the time we specified, while Lauren Kee, in her usual fashion, arrived late.
Since our very first meal together, we have enjoyed countless more. Though we began as Latin classmates, we have grown to be the best of friends and each other’s support systems.
And, we have held onto our roots. Our group chat name, “Puellae Probae Latinae,” or “Good Latin Girls,” stems from wordplay in the first chapter of our Latin textbook and still remains proudly in use after four long years.
J2D (Joshua Ramon ’24 and Dena Chawaldit ’24)
My second trio came together rather unexpectedly — in fact, I myself am still sometimes surprised by how our group came to be.
Josh and I had met through a mutual friend freshman year, while Dena was a new sophomore I met for the first time at a weekend event at school. The three of us always found ourselves hanging out together, and so began our trio.
As much as I enjoy my time with them individually, whenever the three of us are together, the hours fly by, and the topics of conversation are never-ending. Every time we plan for dinner, I know to carve out a minimum of two hours because we won’t leave the dining hall until we absolutely must.
Over the years, we have gotten ourselves into plenty of prickly situations due to spur-of-the-moment ideas. From braving a storm for a scoop of ice cream at Mr. D’s to waking up at 6 a.m. to catch a train to New York City, there are no other friends that I enjoy living life to the fullest and being my naturally spontaneous self with more. As we like to say, “Always do it for the plot!”
LJJ (Lauren Kee ’24 and Junho Lee ’24)
My third and final trio was, funnily enough, a byproduct of this very newspaper. As the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, and Layout Editor of the 117th Masthead, the three of us were quite literally duty-bound to spend a ridiculous amount of time together. We couldn’t leave Tuesday layout meetings until we had approved every Section Editor’s layout, so we were always the last to leave the newsroom. The following night, we had to jump onto a FaceTime call sometimes for hours on end to complete the final layout and send the paper to the publishers. Unfortunately, 5 a.m. bedtimes became our norm.
Rather inevitably, forced proximity brought us closer together. During those nights, we fought to stay awake while rushing to create the perfect product on a tight deadline, sneaking in laughter-filled conversations, boba orders, and heart-to-hearts. Since our very first issue, we upheld the tradition of taking a photo on FaceTime every time we sent the paper off to our publishers. In fact, we have a whole camera album dedicated to those photos; twelve pictures for twelve issues.
Three: The Magic Number
When I was an underclassman listening intently to seniors bequeathing the wise advice they garnered over the years, I always found myself enraptured by the speeches about friendship. Every year, despite the speaker, the lesson shared was always the same: the friendships you make here often surprise you, so one should always keep an open mind.
Was I an ardent supporter of trio friendships before Choate? I can’t say yes to that, but I do know where I stand now. There is a famous expression that goes, “Two heads are better than one.” I’d like to revise that: “Three friends are better than two.”
