People come in and out of our lives for a reason. I believe there is no such thing as coincidences, everything is predestined. If you believe in God like I do, you would agree when I say He has a divine plan for our lives. Bur regardless of the deity I believe in, I 100% believe that everything happens for a reason. And I that same regard, everyone in your life is meant to be there.
So that brings me to a group of people I am friends with. We call ourselves “Adult-ish” (it’s the name of our group message and it’s basically just become our name irl). We all went to an arts high school for theatre, which is where our friendship blossomed. Some of us meant before that, but never got close until we attended the school. We’re all in college now, a few Sophomores, a Junior, and a Senior. We’re spread across South Carolina (plus one in CA), but “Adult-ish” still remains strong, with at least one random text a week and a whole conversation every couple of weeks. We see each other when we’re all home and pick up in the exact same spot where we left off.
These people – these four beautiful people – have grown up with me in the most crucial and difficult times in our lives. From the time I was 16, they have been a source of support and love. They helped me through my first breakup, helped me remember who I was when I was struggling during my Freshman year of college and now help me retain a piece of home even while I am miles away.
Everyone needs friends like these. Even if you don’t make them in high school like I did, find a group of people separate from your family that you can confide in. These people are the ones who can at one moment make fun of you when you act like a fool and the next moment hold you while you cry over yet another stupid boy. Even if you only get to feel close to them through a group message, you still find solace in their words. They are the people who love you even when you act like a crazy person and cheer you on for even your smallest victories.
They don’t judge. Not a single one in my group is exactly the same. We all have something unique about ourselves that a stranger may be surprised by, but that the rest of us know backwards and forwards. We know when one of us is upset and we always know we can lean on each other. At some point in our friendship, I think almost all of us have sent a text saying something along the lines of, “so-and-so and I aren’t together anymore.” It’s simple and yet it’s sometimes heartbreaking to tell others about a personal struggle, but it has never been an issue in our group because we all love one another so much. We don’t look for pity when we send those messages, we look for support. And support is exactly what we find.
I’m lucky to have such an amazing group of people in my life after all these years. We read somewhere that if people stay friends for at least seven years, the friendship will last a lifetime. We have all almost made that seven-year mark and we talk about it pretty much every time we’re together. We want to be friends forever and I simply can’t imagine a life in which “Adult-ish” doesn’t thrive.
