My mom always told me, “You’ll be very lucky to have a handful of good friends by the time you are my age, and by good I mean actual good friends that have stuck by your side." When I was younger I never really listened to what she was saying. However, as I got older, I realized how many of my friends I drifted away from, including you.

When I look back on our childhood, there wasn’t a day that went by where we didn’t talk. We exchanged text messages, had sleepovers and passed notes in school. We spent our weeks doing homework and planning for the weekend and then spent weekends packing in everything we talked about that week while wishing Monday would never come. You were my pal, my go-to and my partner-in-crime.

As we got older, things changed. Our lives became busier. Between writing college essays and finishing up senior projects, there wasn’t much time left in the week for our after-school lunch dates or late-night bike rides. Then when college hit, our lives were completely different. Along with a new environment came new friends, harder classes, further distances and new relationships. Phone calls started growing further apart and trips home for the weekend became less frequent. And then out of nowhere, there was silence.

The point is that it was no one’s fault. I couldn’t blame you for living your life just like you couldn’t blame me. We were in different environments, and when that happens, people tend to drift apart. And quiet honestly, I think that’s OK.

With that being said, I want to tell you I miss you. I miss our Friday night plans and our Saturday morning recovery breakfasts. I miss our movie nights when we stayed up until 4 a.m. talking, sharing gossip and secrets. I miss our walks to the local diner to order French fries for lunch every week.

I also want to say thank you. Thank you for all of those memories I still have. Thank you for helping me through a time where I wasn’t exactly sure who I wanted to be, but you stayed by my side anyway.

Lastly, I want to say I'm sorry. I’m sorry we drifted. I’m sorry life happened and things changed. But I’m not sorry for being the person I am right now, even if it is someone without you in my life right at this moment because I am happy with who I am and where I am right now.

Please know I am only a phone call away, so if you ever need a friend, remember you forever have one in me — no matter how long it has been since our last conversation. I also know you are a phone call away, too. So even though it isn’t likely we will be back to calling each other every day and every night anytime soon, it is nice knowing if I wanted to call, I could, and you would still be there.

I am always here for you.

Love always,

An old friend