Through life's crazy twists and turns, you make friends along the way. But down those same chutes and ladders, you lose friends, too.
But, there are certain friends that you just can't get rid of. They are so branded into your life that there is no way in hell they can leave your side now. It's just impossible.
Friends that stick around long enough eventually blend in with your family. They are the people you want to bring to Cedar Point and camping on the lake. They are the ones your family love almost more (if not more) than you. And it has always been easy for the both of you to get your way with either set of parents for permission to have a sleepover; double-teamed with big blue eyes and the puppy dog lip.
I met my lifelong best friend at 12 years old and we've been inseparable ever since. Although we've never gone to the same school and we don't live particularly close to each other, she's always a text or phone call away. She's the one I don't mind calling at 3 in the morning to vent about anything and everything. She's the one that will spontaneously invite me out with her and who's always ready for a good time together. She's the one who has never left my side.
She's the one who will call me out on my bullshit. She's the one who gives the advice that she knows is best for me. She knows how to handle me at my worst time and how to love me at my best.
I'll never forget when I left for college. We both took it hard, she was still stuck in high school. One of the first times I came home, I made a plan with her mom so I could surprise her. The moment I saw how happy she was to see me, was when I knew our friendship could never fall apart. We're soulmates.
I stopped calling her my best friend, and started calling her my sister.
Not everyone has one of these friends, and that's okay. They are rare. Especially in today's society, friends leave at the blink of an eye. But, the truly special ones will stick around.
Life gets hard, so hard that it's hard to rely on yourself to get you through the tough times. Everyone deserves one friend that will ride next to you on the roller-coaster of Hell that is high school, heartbreak, college, and adulthood.
Taylor McKean, thank you for being my person.
To the people with die hard friendships, a second family, and are blessed with the best, I'll keep rooting for you.
