Dear Cindy,

We met in the third grade. You were this loud and energetic little girl. One of the first memories I can remember is when I called you on my home phone for the first time. You were so excited and I could hear your mom telling you to stop yelling. I remember when you came to my house for the first time. It was a time before cellphones and social media and we went out to the woods and climbed on this fallen tree. Later on, you broke this "wand" my sister had found in the woods (It's been ten years and she has almost forgiven you for snapping her stick). You quickly became one of my best friends in the third grade, along with three other girls. We all got along pretty well -- except during lunch when you would ask to eat everyone's food (Nothing has changed by the way). You always brought "weird" food in and one day you had dried seaweed. Do not ask me why an eight-year old was eating plain dried seaweed from a plastic baggie, because I still can't tell you why. All the other kids were just as confused and made fun of you to the point you were almost in tears. I have always been the pickiest eater in the world, but that day I ignored my title and shoved a piece into my mouth. I told the other girls that it actually didn't taste that bad and spent the rest of lunch trying to pick seaweed off the roof of my mouth.

We ended that year on a pretty bad note. We fought over who got to make the presentation on the sea turtle and let's just say you reluctantly made a tortoise out of air dry clay. Our field trip to the aquarium only allowed us for to have two people per group which caused a huge amount of drama in our friend group. You gave one of the other girls a bracelet I wanted and third grade just did not have a happy ending for our friendship.

Moving onto 4th grade, we somehow managed to salvage our friendship when my best friend from my old school transferred here. We all ended up becoming very close friends even though occasionally one of us would realize that three was a crowd and get upset about being left out.

But I met true sadness one night while we were all in our friend's basement. We were just talking on and on about whatever 5th graders have to discuss, when you broke down in tears. You asked why nobody seemed to like you. We ended up hugging in a circle as you sat there with tears streaming down your face. I'm still not sure how a ten-year-old could hold so much sorrow.

Because there was redistricting, you ended up transferring to the school my best friend and I had moved from. I have no idea why there were so many rumors going around about you and I have no idea why I disliked you so much for it. In middle school, we were still the best of friends. We did everything together. Endless sleepovers, countless errands with your family, and plenty of inside jokes came around at that time. I invited you to come play soccer with me and the following year we ended up making the JV team together. Some of the best moments and worst times of our friendship sprout from those years playing high school soccer.

I won't try to make this long or even try to describe all the drama that happened when we reached sophomore year. Shit really went down and neither of us can really remember why and how it got to the point it did. We ended up genuinely making up the summer before our senior year. I had learned that it was pointless to hold grudges and be mad over a past that had already happened. My anger was hurting me more than it was you. It's not necessary to rehash what happened, it's just important to recognize that we both grew apart and came back together; better and stronger than ever.

From this letter, it may seem that our friendship was a whole lot of drama and not a lot of good times, but it actually was the opposite. From pretending to interview each other on your electronic piano, to being "stranded" on my nearby beach, to jumping off the pier at the end of the summer, to rides home from the middle school dances, to that time you got suspended for pushing a certain boy into a fence, to taking photos in an aesthetically pleasing gravel pit, to our emergency sushi runs, and our all-day party in Mexico. There are little moments in between every milestone of our lives that we have gotten to share together. We have known each other for more than half of our lives. I consider you my sister. We share our families, we share clothes, we share secrets, we do it all together. Moving to different colleges made me realize how hard it is to not have you by my side. We can get on each other's nerves, but we also understand we have a constant friend in each other. You are one of the strongest, selfless, and beautiful people I have ever met. You light up rooms that draw people towards you. You are so forgiving. And every time I see you upset, it hurts me. You never deserve the pain you feel or have to deal with.

One of the most important things you ever did for me was taking me to The Master's Inn. Without that retreat, I may have never really understood what it meant to have faith. I would still be living my life with this constant anxiety and fear that would creep up on me in the middle of the night. I may not be super religious, but I without a doubt know God and believe in what He can do for me and for you.

I am so glad God put you in my life. I am so grateful to have a forever sister. I know we will never lose touch, no matter where we go in life (which is mostly because I know you are obsessed with me). I will always be cheering you on as you do whatever is best for you. Your friendship has blessed me with a lot of things in life and if there is one thing I hope my friendship has done for you, it would be for you to understand how much I love you. I hope that it will at least be enough to know that you are never alone. You will always have me.

Hooty Hoo,

Shay