I measure my friendships not by how much we see or contact each other, but in our ability to go a long time without seeing or speaking to one another and be able to start right where we left off. I met my best friend in kindergarten at a private school we’d spend the next 7 years at together. Later on though, we figured out that we had actually met sooner than that and not been the best of friends as she was a major toy thief but, that is a story for another time. Our friendship was based off our ability to make fun of each other about some of the most hurtful things and never get offended by it. After 6th grade we were separated by school, her continuing with a private school and myself changing to public. Our schools were actually rivals which only added the fuel of mean jokes we could throw at each other.

At the time we thought that remaining best friends at schools that were literally ten minutes apart was hard; little did we know how far we’d end up from each other in just a few years. We’ve had our ups and our downs just like every other friendship, there was even a period of time where her diving and my musical theater prevented us from seeing each other most of the year. We slowly drifted for that year but once we reached high school reconnected and it was like no time had passed at all.

She’s been there for me through every important event in my life and I only hope she can say the same about me. She’s done nothing but support me and my ever changing dreams, even when some of them were unrealistic. She knows me from the top of my head to the tip of my toes and always knows what to say or do. I can honestly say that my friendship with her has impacted my life in so many amazing ways and that I owe her so much. I have no clue where I would be without her; my best guess is probably in a mental hospital.

When it came time to pick colleges I knew mine almost right away, Canisius College. I had visited over a break and instantly it felt like home and I could see myself living there for the next couple years of my life. Originally we thought she’d end up in Boston but, in the end she ended up at University of Virginia. Honestly Boston suffered a great loss, she’s going to do amazing things and they’re not going to be able to take any credit. When you think about college you don’t ever really think about not seeing people that you’re used to seeing every day. Then suddenly it’s your first week and all you want is to crawl in bed with your best friend and tell them about all the things you’ve seen and all the people you’ve met it hits you like a wall of bricks that you can’t because they’re 458 miles away meeting their own people and having their own new experiences.

Our breaks may be different and I may not see her for a while but I know that when I do absolutely nothing will have changed. She’s still going to be the same crazy haired, sass giving, chicken-wing pizza loving, insane girl I met in kindergarten. We don’t talk everyday but we don’t need to because we know that we will always have each others backs no matter what and I think that fact is way more important than the amount of miles between us.