Sometimes I forget how long it’s been. How the years have gone by, as another sunset graces the evening sky. On a warm spring afternoon, I run out of breath to make the train, only to be delayed yet again. Despite no longer going to the same college, we still find the days, the hours, the minutes, where we can remember that although we’ve changed greatly, we’ve managed to be there for each other through it all. Through thick and thin, we’ve struggled with heartbreak, relationship drama, family conflict, never-ending emotional distress, the difficult fight with mental illness and plenty more. We’ve witnessed our growth; our journey to living healthier lives; paving our own paths to self-love out of the crumbling pavement.
If I could send you a reminder every day explaining how much you mean to me, I would. But no amount of words would truly suffice. In our phone calls, we talk for hours, cheering each other up when all we want to do is cry, laughing the night away, suddenly remembering we’re already beyond sleep-deprived. We laugh loud and proud, like we’ve conquered the day, a victory over our inner demons. We rediscover our sense of humor- your abrupt bursts of innuendos never fail to break my frown.
Amongst our shared sensitivity, our heavy hearts, our bodies yearning to rid ourselves of this constant tiredness, we find much-needed comfort. We find peace in the little moments: playing a board game where I failed miserably and you grinned joyfully at beating your tough English Major competitor (you can count on a rematch); watching the first episode of a new show together, reminiscing over our love for “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”; witnessing your overwhelming fondness for “Yuri On Ice,” as you grinned widely fangirling, nearly pleading to show me the first episode; sharing our very first tea time together, like real Russians; singing our hearts out to Disney songs- and that was merely in the span of one day.
Our mutual excitement for recently finding hidden treasure in the world of pizza, in the form of a fancy Italian place calling our names for gluten-free and vegan pizza; sharing vegan adventures since the summer; with great anticipation we impatiently look forward to this upcoming summer, as we’re both turning 21, enthusiastically discussing potential bar drinks for first-timers — I love all of it. It makes me smile a little wider and my heart shine a little brighter.
Within the past year and a half, we have only been to each other’s houses once, which might seem crazy to some I suppose, but our wonderful city adventures countlessly make up for lost time. Every time we hang out we pick up where we left off, and though we don’t get to talk as often as we’d like, you know that I’m always here for you. I am one of your biggest supporters (if not the biggest). I will always try my best to remind you how proud you should be of yourself and how truly proud I am of you. You know firsthand, I will always fill my long cards with words of love and sentiment, and I mean every word. I know it’s not your birthday yet, and maybe your first reaction will be that you don’t deserve this. But you deserve so much happiness and love from the universe, so much more than you’ve been given. Any person who doesn’t see your worth doesn’t deserve your strength, your big heart, your care, your time, and definitely not your tears. My appreciation and gratitude for our friendship are vast, and, girl, I could probably write a whole memoir dedicated to our years-long friendship.
Thanks for being my only reason for willingly returning to the borough I left behind, and for being one of the best people in my life. Here’s to more fun adventures, more delicious food, more laughs; to creating more bucket lists, to accomplishing more goals; to continuing the path to self-love. Here’s to conquering the daily battle.
Here’s to someone I could’ve never expected would stay in my life all these years, after initially sitting on opposite ends of a horrid US history class sophomore year of high school.