In a perfect world, you would make a best friend when you were 4 years old, and you would be best friends for the rest of your life. Or you would make a best friend for life in elementary school. Or middle school. Or High School. Maybe it would be a college friend. What I am getting at is that most of us girls want to make that one friend that will be beside you through thick and thin, just like in the movies. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't.
For me, I had a best friend growing up. We were inseparable... Until I moved eight hours away. We still keep in touch but our friendship never stayed as strong as it did for those first few years. When I moved to my new school, I made two new friends and we became inseparable. We did everything together, a threesome against the world. It was all great until they up and decided we were no longer friends in eighth grade. High school brought lots of great acquaintances but only one "best friend." We drifted apart senior year and we have not been able to stay as close as I would have liked just due to busy lives and distance. In college, I made a few super close friends the first weeks of classes. After about a year the friendship had become one sided and was not worth my time. Junior year brought new friends and these ones seemed to be for life. I wanted them to be the bridesmaids in my wedding. It lasted about a year... I am still friends with two of them but the others have gone their own way.
On the flip-side, I made some friends showing horses when I was in my early teenage years. Despite distance and communication difficulties, we have remained, to this day, best friends. Two of them are bridesmaids in my wedding; the others are traveling halfway across the country to be here on my special day. Some of my other friends from college have stuck by me even when the others left. The girls I studied abroad with have become daily confidants as we reminisce about London and make a point to keep in touch.
All of this reminds me of a saying someone told me a long time ago, "Friends come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime." I absolutely believe this is true. I have had friends for a reason, such as the girls who befriended me when I was the new girl at a new school. Though our friendship did not last, it helped me through that hard time in my life and for that reason, I am thankful. Others have been around for a season, such as my best friend growing up. We experienced childhood together and it was great though we did not become the lifelong best friends we thought we would be. Other friends come in for a lifetime, like the girls I show horses with scattered around the country that have made a point to keep our friendship strong despite distance and time between visits. The girls I went to London with and I have a group text message that we keep in touch with almost daily.
To all the friends I have had in my life, be them for a reason, a season or a lifetime, I thank you for your friendship because I know that in some way, you have helped to shape me and there was a purpose to that friendship... Even if it ended in ashes or if we are best friends to this day. Every friend has touched my life and every one of them has helped to write a chapter in my book of life. For all of that, I thank each and every one of you. If I did something to hurt you, I apologize. If you did something to hurt me, I forgive you. If we are still good friends, I will make a point to talk to you soon. Whether we keep in touch or haven't talked in years, I hope you see this and I hope it makes you smile. I wish each and every one of you the best in life.
