I met my first best friend in second grade. Her name is Bharti, and we are still friends today. In elementary school, she and I were inseparable. We built forts in the playground's woods together, shared our colored pencils, destroyed my mom's makeup by putting on each other during our many sleepovers, and haphazardly tried to make scrambled eggs in the middle of the night. Bharti was there for me through many firsts of middle and elementary school: the first time I failed a test, our respective first kisses, first dates, first grandparents to pass away, and first heartbreaks. She taught me so much about being a good friend.

One of the clearest things I remember about elementary school-aged Bharti was how colorful she was. Not only does she have gorgeous Indian skin, hair, and eyes, but she always seemed to be wearing a rainbow. Every color flatters her, and when we were younger, she'd wear them all at once, especially on her wrists. Her little wrists were always adorned with string bracelets and sometimes beads. I lacked the hand-eye coordination to play "Miss Mary Mack" on the playground, so I doubted that I could learn how make the complicated-looking bracelets she always wore. Still, in her unfailing enthusiasm and faith in me, Bharti insisted that I could be taught. Sitting on the floor of her bedroom, we untangled rainbow string, and lo and behold, I was making a bracelet! In the coming weeks, my arms were just as colorful as Bharti's, and we became a bracelet-making factory, sometimes keeping our creations, and other times gifting them to each other.

Bharti and I drifted apart as we matured at different speeds in middle and high school, but now that we've both reached college, we've caught up to each other, and are close once more. She lives out of state now, and I don't see her much, but the last time I was at her house, we made bracelets together. "I haven't done this in a long time," she confessed, but of course, she still remembered how to do it.

Bharti taught me to be a giving friend in so many ways. Even when we lived in the same state, we were a lengthy drive away from each other, but that didn't stop us from making plans. I made time for her because I care about her and want to be there for her. She did the same for me. I still make bracelets for my friends. It's my way of showing them that I care, and reminding them that I'm right here whenever they need someone. My girlfriend and I have matching ones, and she has a short strand I wove on her key ring. It may not be anything fancy or expensive, but it's how I leave my mark with the people who are important to me. Whenever I make a bracelet, I'm reminded of the long-lasting friendship I share with Bharti and all the ways she made me a better person.