Dear Best Friend,

It's been years now since you left, but I still see or hear little things that remind me of you. I can still remember how much it sucked when you told me you were moving. I can still remember all our crazy stupid stunts and the countless times we got in trouble. I remember wanting to do everything possible before you left to make sure you wouldn't leave our small town without leaving a mark as much as was possible in middle school, both in memory and physically.

I can still remember the phone call when you told me and I thought it was a joke. I can remember wanting to be supportive of you, especially since I knew it would be even harder on you despite how bad it hurt me. You would be leaving all you ever knew behind. You'd be leaving all your friends, starting somewhere completely new where you knew not a soul, and living so far away in a town you couldn't drive with your eyes closed anymore. I remember staying on, offering positive words, then getting off and wanting to cry. I wanted to cry that we couldn't hang out anymore, that my shoulder to cry on would be miles away, and even that you would find a new best friend, as selfish as that sounds. The thought sucked, but I understood why you were moving.

I made it my last job to make sure you could see all your friends before you left. I organized a surprise party at a local hangout in town. I decorated and even asked one of our friends to DJ for us and made sure they played all our songs that we would jam to religiously, one of them, of course, being "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs". For weeks we would talk about all the good times and we signed the telephone pole behind your grandma's to leave our permanent mark on the world.

Then you had to leave.

The distance and time and life got in the way, so we aren't as close as we used to be. You made a whole new group of friends easily, as I knew you would because of how awesome you are, which made me happy. I'm glad you have a support group and people who love you just as much as I do, even if we aren't as close. I'm sorry that we didn't get to keep up as much as I would have liked to.

Even so, I won't forget any of the good times with time or life or distance. I'll always remember trampoline hangs, scooter rides around town, game days, sleepovers, school dances, and so much more. I'll remember how confused we were at the antlers on the back of the Fall Out Boy phone case you got me, then discovering the music video. I'll remember how oddly good you were at catching flies. I'll remember the time we discovered that an onion, apple, and potato all taste the same if you plug your nose when you take a bite. I'm thankful for all of it, as well as the fact you actually were my friend during my awkward middle school days.

No matter what, I'm so glad you're doing well. I'm so glad when we get to talk occasionally, and I miss you times a million. I hope life treats you well and you accomplish everything you want to. I hope you find someone who loves you and treats you the way you deserve to be treated. I hope you always find people to surround yourself with that make you feel like the most authentic version of you. I hope that you crush every dream you have. I hope your family, who felt like my second family, is doing well and will thrive well into the future. I hope nothing but the best for all of you. I pray you'll be consistently blessed.

I miss you lots. I love you lots. I wish you the world.

Sincerely,

The Best Friend From Back Home