Every once in a blue moon, we meet someone who makes an impact in our lives. This person supports you and you support them. Their happiness, sadness, pain, and excitement are yours, and you know that they feel yours as well. When you meet someone who is such a large portion of your life, you just know that you have met your person.

When I was a little girl, my dad met a child in Ecuador who was the same age as I was--only a four day difference in age--that he took an instant liking to. The one time my father ever made a phone call to the U.S. from a foreign country that cost money was just so that my family could speak extremely broken Spanish to this girl. Upon his arrival home, he presented me with a necklace of pure beauty which was an identical match to this little girl he had befriended, yet I had never even met. I wore it every day till it broke.

A year later, I was privileged enough to meet this girl. We listened to music, I painted her nails, and we volunteered in the community. Yet the whole time, we could barely communicate because of a language barrier. Looking back at that experience, I realize how important it was that I met my person at such a young age. As we got older and entered high school, this young Ecuadorean girl and I shared a room for three months one summer. We became friends and she sparked a flame inside of me that created a burning passion to learn Spanish just so that we could communicate better. Over the years, she studied English and I, Spanish. I made two more trips to Ecuador, once to attend her Quinceañera.

Even though we were separated by so many countries, she truly became one of my closest friends. She came during the fall while I was in high school and we celebrated Halloween. I remember how excited she was when she saw snow for the first time. We attended a marvelous wedding during another summer and she even surprised me at the airport before I left for college my first year.

This wonderful human being was the topic of my essay for my college applications. She was my travel companion during my first winter in college. We adventured throughout Amsterdam, Roskilde, and Zurich with shopping bags covering our arms and early morning walks back to our abodes. My person is the reason why I love being in Poughkeepsie just so that I can drive down the street and visit her at school.

I know that everyone has the chance to meet their person in life and that it may not be an exclusive event. But, Diana is my person, which makes it so exclusive, wonderful, and extraordinary. How many other people in the world are able to say that she is their best friend?