Eight years ago is when we first met on that fateful day in sixth grade. I just moved from Ohio to our small town called Prospect. Everyone tries to forget their middle school days, especially us. I recall begging to sit with you at lunch every day and for some reason you always let me. You constantly dealt with stories about my cats because you knew that you were my only friend. Who knew that we would somehow become and stay best friends eight years later? I remember you telling me how you asked your mom how to get rid of me in sixth grade because you thought I was weird. You weren’t wrong, but I’m glad you decided to stick with the weird cat girl.
Throughout high school we bonded in French every day for four years. Each year brought us closer together to the point where people were surprised when we weren’t together, and we even ended up working together.
As college loomed closer, the reality of us going to different schools started to set in. You decided to go to Indiana University while I stayed in Kentucky to attend the University of Kentucky. Accepting the fact that we would be almost 200 miles apart was almost impossible to accept. We avoided thinking about that dreadful day where would have to say goodbye until December. I remember that night was filled with lots of hugs and lots of tears.
During the first few weeks of college I couldn’t help but share all of our crazy stories from high school. I felt that if I talked about you it would feel like we weren’t 181 miles away from each other. While my first college friends may have not known everything about me, they always knew who I was talking about when I brought up your name.
As the semester went on, I had a hard time getting used to not being with me all of the time. I had to get used to you not being at school with me to share all the crazy college moments with. I had to get used to you not knowing everyone that I was friends with and vice versa. A long distance friendship seemed just as hard as a long distant relationship. We would go days and even weeks without talking. That was something we wouldn’t even consider doing in high school.
Apparently if a friendship lasts longer than seven years, the friendship will last forever. As we approach our nine-month mark of friendship, I can see that saying being true. Despite the distance, we texted almost every day, had a Snapchat streak and would FaceTime at random times in the middle of the night just to catch up on how our lives were going.
After our first year of college ended, I learned that true friendship couldn’t be broken. A true friend is there for you always, no matter the distance. When we came home for the summer, we spent almost every day going swimming, going to work and spending the night at each other’s houses. We truly had a friendship that not even distance could shatter.
Leaving for college the second time was honestly harder than the first time because I truly realized how special you are to me. No one could replace you in my life. Not at college, not at work, not at home, no one. You were my first true friend from day one. No matter how far apart we are, whether at school or when we’re grown up with families, I’ll always be here for you. You’re my best friend and nothing could ever change that.
