Sophomore year of high school, every pair of best friends’ dream became my reality: my BFF moved in next door! Having my best friend as my neighbor came with so many perks that made the long and tiring days of high school so much better.
1. School-night sleepovers
Pulling the legendary stunt of a school-night sleepover was almost unheard of for me until my best friend since sixth grade, Abby, moved in next door. All the usual complications became no problem at all; we’d simply grab our stuff and walk right on over. If need be, we could even run back to our house real quick to grab a forgotten item before school.
2. School carpools
Every day, Abby would walk over to my house, and we would drive to school every morning together. This made the ungodly early school mornings a little more bearable. She’d ride home with me after school too, and we’d sit in her driveway where our daily 20-minute debriefing of the day occurred.
3. Having two moms
Having two moms at first sounds like a hassle, but I loved it. Every morning, when I would be groggy and crabby (I am NOT a morning person), my mom would feed Abby breakfast while they had their morning chat. On the contrary, Abby gets tired after school, so I’d often talk with her mom and eat snacks at her house after school.
4. Constantly borrowing clothes
It’s like having a second closet when your BFF lives next to you. I’d get a text saying, “Hey can I wear that one striped shirt you have today?” and I’d give it to her in the morning when she came for the daily carpool to school.
5. Calling each other on our walk back from each other's houses
There are no street lamps on the section our houses sit on, so at night, even the short
6. Forcing her to tutor me in math
I’ve never been a fan of math, so when she would come over after school to do homework, I’d have the opportunity to say, “So since you’re here…” and we’d work on our math homework together.
7. The no-sleepover sleepover
We’d constantly spend all day and night at each other’s houses over the weekends and summers, even staying over as late as 3 a.m. Our parents don’t mind that we’re out so late since it’s only a few feet away (literally). After our late night shenanigans, which often included midnight snacking in the kitchen, we could walk back to the comfort of our own beds to sleep in.
8. Waving to each other from our balconies
It’s always fun to walk out onto my balcony that faces Abby’s house, text her saying, “Go onto your balcony,” and then wave to each other from across our yards. #goals
9. Having a built-in dog-sitter
Whenever our family would go out of town, Abby was always our go-to for dog sitting. Our dogs are a little crazy and don’t like everyone they meet, but fortunately, they loved Abby. She’d always dog-sit for us, despite their rambunctiousness, and in return, I’d take care of their rabbit when they left.
10. Rollerblading on the track across from our houses
We live across from an elementary school with a track and field. Abby and our other friend would rollerblade while I biked beside them around the track, as I am not a graceful rollerblader.
11. Sunbathing on the roof
Abby’s house has a small balcony/roof that shoots off of her room. When the weather was nice (a rarity in Michigan) we’d take blankets out there and bask in the sun, talking about life, while watching my dad garden in his full outdoor jumpsuit, fully equipped with his name sewed into the front pocket, over in my yard.
12. Finally having a sister
I have one younger brother, but having my best friend as my neighbor makes it feel as though I have a sister. With spending so much time together, we can bicker, but we both know we’ll still love each other no matter what, just as sisters do. We can sit in comfortable silence on our phones, make any situation entertaining and funny out of nothing, and we never run out of things to talk about. Despite the distance attending different colleges has created, our relationship hasn’t changed.
Having my BFF as my neighbor is like a movie come to life. Now that we are in college, no matter how long we go without talking, when we finally get a chance to catch up between midterms, it feels like no time has passed.
