First of all, can you believe we made it? It seems like it was just yesterday that we huddled over class schedules printed on five-by-seven notecards, hoping that we had C lunch together. It seems like just yesterday that we were doing homework on the band balcony, cheering on the football team, wearing ridiculous super-fan clothes and texting each other, panicking over a physics assignment we hadn’t yet done. It seems like just yesterday that we stood on the risers at graduation for the last time, holding hands as we sang with the choir, trying not to cry as we looked out at the sea of faces, knowing we’d only keep in touch with a handful of them.
Well, I like to say thank you for being that handful. Thank you for making our last summer before going off to college unforgettable, and thank you for being my very best friends in the world. It’s crazy, really, how quickly three months can fly by when you’re spending it with friends who’ve turned into family over the past four years.
Then it was August, and the first of you started to leave. Even though none of us were going to school near each other, let alone the same state, we promised to stay in touch, that it would only be a few months before Thanksgiving break and then we’d all see each other again. Everything was happening so fast and starting college was so overwhelming, but it was incredibly comforting knowing you were all just a quick text or call away. And finally, being able to hug and see you all after being thrust into a new environment was so relieving. We’d made it. The past two months had transformed us into self-sustaining, Easy Mac-eating, coffee-guzzling adults that still may or may not know what taxes are. We had made new friends at school and started going down our own paths to our future careers, but when we were all home, it was as if nothing had changed.
It’s been a while since that first break, and we’ve gone through patches of talking less or talking more. There’s been drama and there’s been laughter. But what I really want to say is: you’re all amazing. We supported each other through questionable decision-making, responded to each other's 2 a.m. Snapchats and were there to listen to each other complain about anything and everything. Thank you for always listening to me, and not judging all the distorted-face Snaps I sent you. Thank you for finding the humor in the random pictures I'd send you from the Internet and for reminiscing over the "good ol' days" when our friends that are still in high school posted about all the things we miss most about our old school.
They say it’s important to make new connections in college - to lose that teenage part of yourself from high school - but I can honestly say that my high school friends are my closest friends. Having long-distance friendships teaches you who were the people that were there out of convenience and who was there because they were, in the words of Christina Yang and Meredith Grey, “my people."
At the end of the day, my high school friends are the ones I can rely on for support. They’re the ones who always have my back and will always listen to me when I just need to vent. They’re the ones who love and accept my quirks, and who have literally grown up with me over the past few years. They’re the only ones in the world who know just how weird I am and still love me for it, because I know how weird they are and I still love them, too. They’re the ones who I can speak to without using actual English words, because facial expressions and unintelligible noises suffice. They’re the ones who I look forward to seeing the most, and they’re the ones who I know will be a permanent part of my life. Thank you for being my people. Thank you for all the crazy memories, and here's to many more. I love you guys.
