At some point over the course of high school, we’ve all had a "Regina George" in our lives, and at some point we all were Regina George, even briefly. That’s just how high school works. So, to my best friend, thank you for pulling me away from Regina and thank you for knocking me off my pedestal when I was Regina.
But I really can’t thank just one of you. You all shaped me into who I am. Some of you, I miss. Some of you, I don’t. But all of you, I appreciate.
To my freshman year best friend, thanks for pushing me to do crazy-stupid things. Although stupid and sometimes dangerous, I now have the courage that I will bestow upon my future kids. Whether it be riding a roller coaster or skinny dipping, they, as well as I, will have the confidence to do it.
To my sophomore year best friend, thanks for pushing me to do even crazier things, such things that I will not bestow upon my future kids, but I know they might do them eventually anyway. After our rebellious teen phase ended, I automatically hated you. What I realized later is that I should not hate you or shun you. Unknowingly, you prepared me for certain situations in life. Yes, you left me out to dry at a few of our shindigs, but people learn best through experience. I chose to learn, and then I taught.
To my junior year best friend, I hope I taught you all I could before we parted ways. It may not seem like it, but I loved you more than ever for piecing me back together. You did not judge me, you let me cry, and although we may not have shared the same experiences, we meshed together like peanut butter and jelly. Your struggles became my struggles because I wanted you to learn from my “mistakes.” What I soon realized was that I could only keep you from so much because you also had to live life to its fullest. No, we didn’t have the cleanest of good-byes, but watching you grow as a person still makes me smile.
To my senior year best friend, I will always love you. Both of us were complete opposites but complete matches. If you added our extracurriculars together, you’d see that we conquered everything the school offered. This being said, we didn’t always have the same friends or free time. We didn’t always give each other our fullest attention or show our appreciation, but without you I would not be where I am or who I am. You full-speed knocked me off my Mean Girl pedestal, or tried to. I wish I had listened sooner. I full-speed pushed you into a vat of confidence because I wanted to watch you shine like I knew you would. We butted heads, but that’s why we were such best friends. You were a real best friend. You weren’t afraid to put me in place, and for that, I thank you.
As we take separate paths in college, it feels as if we are drifting. I promise you, we are not. Please continue to call me at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday night telling me you want pizza and Honey Buns because I guarantee you that I will want the same.
Love,
Your Forever Best Friend
