We all have those we care about. Some of us are even fortunate enough to love and be loved by one, two, or even a few people. But most of us have those one or two people that we can call best friends. Now, I have come to dislike the phrase “best friend,” just like I have always disliked the titles “boyfriend” and “girlfriend.” These three phrases have been thrown about so causally, so frequently, so liberally, that they seem to have not only lost their original meanings in my mind, but they also are tinged with a slightly rotten taste in my mouth. It’s almost like when I use these words I feel as though I adopt the stereotype of a typical middle class, privileged, white girl: flighty, inexperienced, insincere, spoiled, and vain. I picture a young teenager obsessed with boys, making people like her, wearing a lot of make up, and using the word “like” in her vocabulary often enough to make you think she had a condition.
I’m so bothered by the stereotype that somehow became tethered to these words that I developed this weird personal quirk. I’m working on it, don’t worry. In my quest for personal progress this past year, there’s been a couple people who entered my life and swept me up in a rich, exciting, adventure of a year. Being separated from them now has made me realize even more fully how much I have come to love them and how thankful I am that we all met.
I am thankful for their knowing glances that communicate better than words. For their readiness to say "yes" to crazy plans like mud sliding and dancing in a complete downpour. For their complete acceptance of all my awkwardness, for their forgiveness of when I cross the line, and for their total understanding of character.
I am absolutely in love with each person’s sincerity. Their words and actions are wholehearted, honest, and soaked with kindness. I love that we can study, practice, and eat almost every meal together and not get sick of each other. I am forever in love with them for creating, scheming up, and executing mini adventures with me like camping trips on the soccer field, hikes in the Delaware River Gap, and midnight sledding on the last possible day before the snow melted. I love that we can talk freely and deeply about life, God, school, character, and anything else that crosses our minds. That we not only connect over what we talk about, but that we also challenge each other in our thinking so that our individual perspectives are stretched further than we imagined is a blessing I will always cherish.
These two people have brought genuine meaning to the phrase “best friend” for me. Because behind it, I picture them, and all that they are to me. I understand, at this point those left reading feel as though they’ve read about a significant other. In truth, these people are my significant others. I have fallen in love with them. Just not in a romantic way.
We need people like this in our lives because they give us the courage to be ourselves, find ourselves, and connect with the world around us. They add meaning to our lives (and in my case, exhausted phrases), and they lead us on adventures that can revive us just when we’re feeling the pressures of life pull us under. We need people like this and oh how we do love people like this. We should always let them know.
