Dear Town Friends,

I’ve known all of you since before I can remember the first time we met. Some of you were on my little league team, some lived in my neighborhood, some went to kindergarten with me and then another 12 years of school together, some I just knew from random places. All of you have shaped me in a way, and all of you hold a special place in my heart because you were the “firsts.” You were my first best friends, my first teammates, my first classmates and my first fellow competitors. I put you all in this special category of "town friends" because it’s a connection that remains unique and untouchable through space and time. It sounds cheesy, right? Well, it is, but I think it rings true especially when I come home from college for break and have the opportunity to see you all again.

Trust me, I have made some wonderful friends at high school and college that I know will be there for life. I also know, however, that you town friends will be there for life as well, considering you’ve already been there for so many years thus far. I’ve grown to appreciate you all after going to school and splitting up because it makes our reunions at home so much more meaningful. Times spent with you all on breaks are full of conversations that start with phrases like, “Remember that time in fourth grade?” or “That reminds me of middle school.” These are conversations I can only have with you guys because obviously you’re the ones that know my childhood memories the best.

I love coming home because of these conversations. Every time we come back and meet up, many of these stories and conversations are the same. These same stories are repeated over and over again, but each time we laugh just as hard as if we are hearing them for the first time. We even seem to go to the same places when we meet up during every break and in the summer. It wouldn’t be a night with you guys unless we get frozen yogurt at odd hours of the night when barely any store is open. There’s also the classic text that we all get saying, “Let’s hang out.” We all agree, but we never know where to go. We brainstorm for about 30 seconds, and then all agree it would just be easier to convene at West Street. The Needham Junction’s best patrons are those people that get their ice cream and sit in the parking lot for at least two hours with all of the windows down, just talking. Sound familiar? It’s us.

My hometown of Needham is special, at least in my opinion. It’s small; it has typical suburban families with athletic, artistic, smart kids that go to public and private schools and then head off to college. It’s a close-knit community, a place where everyone knows or has heard of just about everyone else. There are a few out-of-towners though, but I still group them into my “Needham friends” because they basically grew up here anyway. I love it here, and I wouldn’t change anything about it because it has given me the friends I have already described. These are the friends that have been there for me through family loss, three orthopedic surgeries and any rough patches along the way. They’ve also been the kids that supported me and the Alzheimer’s Association, kids whose parents wrote my college recommendation letters and kids who played sports with me through high school.

Any way you slice it, this group of people represents basically my whole life up until right now. If you pick any activity from my past, at least one of these amazing friends has participated in said activity with me. Whether it was the “Terrific Two” program at the local YMCA that gave me a sister for life, or youth soccer and the yellow team that gave me a great supportive friend that I really look up to, Needham has thrown some great people my way. I’ll always be thankful for Girl Scouts with some crazy kid that called my mother her “sista,” or eighth grade math and the box game that introduced me — after way too many years — to a hilarious friend. Hyde Park, although it’s no Needham, has given me a true, crazy friend as well.

All of these moments are important to explain because they demonstrate not only the wide range of random and simple moments that have given me amazing friends, but also the influence they have each had on me. I am so infinitely thankful for every friend Needham has ever given me the opportunity to know. I’m also incredibly glad that so many of us have stayed in touch and stayed so close, even after splitting up and going to different middle schools, high school and colleges. It’s a testament to you all, a testament to the kind of great people you have grown to become and a testament to how great Needham and Hyde Park really are.

With love,

Your Needham Friend