Friendships can start in the strangest, most random ways, especially when children are younger. I can remember my first day of kindergarten: a girl came up to me, introduced herself, and said, “Let’s be best friends!” I happily complied, in awe at how easy that had been. Yet in sixth grade, a friend group began to form that now has morphed into an indestructible bond. I can trace everything back to one sole moment: my best friend goofing around in class with a pair of scissors.
There’s a quote from an anonymous author that states that if a friendship survives more than seven years, it will last a lifetime. Pues mis amigos, I think it’s safe to say that we are completely and utterly stuck together! Looking back, there is absolutely no way I would have survived the awkward years without you all. Sixth, seventh and even eighth grade were the dark ages, and everyone was just trying to survive. The nicknames we created for each other so many years ago have become such a normality that often, I have to pause for a second if a stranger asks me for one of your names. Luckily my nickname of “braceface” died after eighth grade when the metal was removed, but sometimes I’ll hear “Jan” and instinctively turn around. In middle school, we discovered that boys and girls could hang out together in a group and the tides turned. I think it is safe to say that we spent almost every single weekend at the movie theater, seeing anything just to have an excuse to be together. We later migrated to each others’ houses, and spent countless hours prank-calling other people or sitting around a bonfire. The parents of our group did so much driving that soon they became like family as well, referred to as mama or papa *insert last name here.* In grade school, we were able to learn together, make mistakes together and grow as individuals without a care in the world.
When high school rolled around, some of us had to split up. However, this did not ruin our rock-solid friendship. Every weekend we reunited once again and were able to live vicariously through each other at different school districts. We went through different phases in high school, and there is enough embarrassing photographic evidence to prove it. Remember the “spend countless hours on photo booth with silly effects” stage, or the “let’s make a music video and lip sync, while dressed up in masks so that no one can see how ridiculous we are” period? When everyone was finally old enough to drive, the whole world turned upside-down. Freedom! And eventually, no 11 p.m. curfew!
And now, here we are as college students. Some of you attend school only an hour from our hometown, while others are many states away. Even though our group chat doesn’t explode at all hours anymore, and we see each other a fraction of the time, I still think about you all often and can’t wait for summer to begin. My childhood friends, I thank you for being the most incredible companions, for making me laugh until my stomach hurts and for years of memories that I’ll never forget.
Love always,
Ang (Jan)
