MY NEW BEST FRIEND

KIMBERLY KIRBERGER
• one of the most renowned and effective champions for teens today.
• Deeply committed to improving the often-torturous transition from
adolescence to adulthood
• Her books, public speaking, advice columns and teen-help
organizations make it safer for teens to love and accept who they are.
• In the compassionate and loving voice that teens all over the world
turn to and trust, Kimberly reassures the frightened, guides the
confused and incites hope where often too little exists.
• "My New Best Friend"is a poem about how the best friendship
is with yourself.
• At the beginning of the poem you would think that it involves
two people, but at the end you learn that it only involves one.
Today I met a great new friend
Who knew me right away;
It was funny how she understood
All that I had to say.

She listened to my problems

She listened to my dreams;
We talked about love and life,
She’d been there too – it seems!
I never once felt judged by her
She knew just how I felt;
She seemed to just accept me
With all the faults I’d been dealt.

She didn’t interrupt me

Or need to have her say;
She just listened very patiently
And didn’t go away.
I wanted her to understand
How much this meant to me;
But as I went to hug her
Something startled me.

I put my arms in front of me

And tried to pull her nearer;
And realized that my new best friend
Was nothing but a mirror.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Write down all the MEANINGS of the words given in the book and
the underlined words in the class.
2. Paraphrase the poem in your own words. There are 6 stanzas, so
make small six paragraphs.
3. Page no. 123. THINK QUICK.
A. Write True or False as you had already marked in the book.
Avoid spelling mistakes.
B. WRITE SHORT ANSWERS.
1. How long do you think the poet has known this friend?
Ans: The poet has known this friend for a long time, probably from her
childhood onwards.
2. What are some of the things they talked about?
Ans: The two friends understood each other. Then they listened to their
problems and dreams. At length, they talked and shared about their love and
life.
3. How do we know that the friend listened to the poet patiently?
Ans: The close friend listened to the poet patiently because she never
interrupted her when she shared about her problems, dreams, love and life.
She never made any comments or judged her views.
4. Write two things about the poet’s new friend that you appreciate.
Ans: 1. She understood her
2. She listened to her patiently, without interrupting her.
5. What startled the poet?
Ans: What startled the poet was the awareness that she could not put
her arms around her friend’s neck and pull her nearer to her.
6. Who was actually the poet’s new friend?
Ans: Actually the poet’s friend was the poet herself as she was standing
in front of a mirror.
C. Think and answer.
1. Why does the poet think it ‘funny’ that her new friend understood everything she
said?
Ans: The poet thinks it ‘funny’ that her new friend understood everything she said
because she became her friend at once, without any delay. This was never happened
in her life earlier.
2. Did the poet have problems in her life? How do we know this?
Ans: Yes, the poet had problems in her life. We know this from the fact that her new
friend listened to her problems without any interruptions.
3. Which line in the poem tells us that the poet’s new friend had also had the same
experiences as her?
Ans: The line “She’d been there too – it seems!” in the poem tells us that the poet’s
new friend had also had the same experiences as her
4. What happened when the poet reached out to hug her friend?
Ans: When the poet reached out to hug her friend, she realized that her
new friend was her own image in the mirror. Though it was her own
image, the poet wanted to put her arms around ‘the new friend’s’ neck
and pull her near, to thank her for accepting her as her friend.
5. How do you think the poet felt when she realized that her new friend
was her mirror?
Ans: The poet felt surprised and shocked when she realized that her
new friend was her mirror. She realized the importance of knowing her
own inner strengths through this process.
6. What is the central theme of the poem or primary(main) message that the
poet is giving each one of us? Write your answer in about five or six
sentences.
Ans: The central theme of the poem or primary(main) message that the poet
is giving each one of us is the importance of being friendly with oneself. In
other words, the main theme is friendship with oneself. It is very difficult to
get a true friend nowadays as all are busy with some gadgets and don’t want
to spend time with others. In the earlier days, our grandparents and parents
had many good friends, who stood by their side in the hour of need, shared
their problems, cared each other, played together etc. In the modern world,
we are missing this important link. So the poet is asking us to befriend
ourselves than blaming others, not being friendly with us.