Over winter break I had the opportunity to see old friends, life long friends, the ones that stand the tests of time.

I had a great group of friends in high school. Even though I didn't really like high school that much, I still managed to find people that made it bearable, some of them I had known since childhood and others were new friends that I made as a freshman.

When I left for college I was eager to set off and make new friends and I think I forgot how amazing my friends were from back home. It's amusing that if you had asked me in high school which friends I would stay close with, I think I would have had a longer list. Probably a list of ten names not four. Last year when I was struggling with daily migraines, I had the opportunity to rediscover how amazing those friends were:

They'd check up on me even though they were states away.

They were an extra support system, an outlet, and a much needed escape.

Now when I return home, I don't get nostalgic, I smile. My hometown isn't really home, these people are.

In Stephen King's story The Body, (what most people would know as Stand By Me) he says "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, did you?”.

What a true statement. I think I was lucky to find lifelong friends at such an early age. Friends that stuck with me through the hard times and laughed with me through the good. The ones that just check in because they miss you and want to make sure that you're doing well. The friends that you've done some pretty stupid stuff with but somehow you all survived. Yes, the lifelong friends.