We’ve been friends for the entirety of my life. We live just down the street from one another, and you have grown up to be the sister I never had and the only one I would ever want. We’ve been through so much throughout the years, and somehow, it always seem like I am the one learning, admiring and looking up to you.

You taught me to roller blade and helped me up every time I fell. You were more mature at the age of 5 when I gave you a Barbie for your birthday and then asked for it back, leading to our first fight. You showed true friendship when you told me not to hang from the tree branch, and when I did it anyway and broke my leg, you did my trick-or-treating for me on Halloween while I followed in a stroller. We did everything together and we created worlds of our own that only you and I will ever be able to remember the magic in those endless hours spent outside. I saw and still see you as indestructible, confident and powerful.

One day you showed up to my back door with tears in your eyes. You told me your mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and it was the first and only time I’ve ever seen you cry. Suddenly, I was supposed to be the person for you that you had always been for me, and I didn’t know how to. My heart was broken for you, and I didn’t know how to make anything better because it wasn’t as simple as holding your pumpkin and collecting candy. Your mom, who was basically like my own, had taken us rollerblading that day I fell so many times; she walked me home when I was upset about the Barbie and she picked me up when I fell out of the tree. Your mom was just like you, a hero to me too. When things got worse she refused help from my family and I saw you in her, you never asked for anything but a hug while you cried.

Then the day came that your mom finally reached peace. On the day of the funeral, I came alone and a complete mess. I remember watching you the entire time. You were an image of poise and grace, and it killed me that I couldn’t hold your hand. Then again, maybe it was I who needed you to hold mine. I wanted my mom to have been there with me, and I couldn’t imagine how much you wanted yours. When it was over, you gave me a hug, and I felt so dumb for being so weak when you were being so strong. I may have always admired, looked up and learned from you before but it was at that moment where I knew there will be no one else I could ever admire more.

To this day, I am at a loss for words when I think about those moments in the past. It’s indescribable the beauty, strength and confidence you possess. I find myself incredibly lucky to have a friend I care about so much that her pain becomes my own, as does her happiness. I am constantly reminded of her character and it inspires me to strive to be the best that I can be. I’m grateful every day for the blessing of having a friend like mine in my life.