I remember the day I met you in Kindergarten. We had just started school and you were one of the first people I met. We were playing in the toy kitchen and talking about numerous things. It was in that moment that you became my best friend. I thought we would be best friends for the rest of our lives, but I was wrong. We drifted from each other in middle school, but still talked on occasion. Then as high school came around, we didn’t speak at all. It wasn’t until senior year that we became close again and that didn’t last very long. You fell in with a different crowd and we were no longer interested in the same things. It honestly hurt me, but that is just how life goes and even though we hardly ever see or speak to each other, there are a few things I want you to know.
You’ll always be the girl in my memories.
Although I know who you have become and the things you do, I will always remember you as the girl I once knew. Coping with the things that have changed in you, just isn’t something I’m fond of. To me you will always be the girl who thought that partying your weekends away was a cliché. You will always be the girl who laughed at the little things and didn’t care to be a part of the “cool” crowd. You will always be the girl who never let down her friends. You will always be the girl who didn’t leave the people who mattered in her past for those that probably won’t be around in a few years. You will always be that girl to me.
You won’t be forgotten.
We may be on two totally different paths, but that doesn’t mean that I have forgotten or will forget you. You will be the one I tell my children about. When my little girl meets a girl that becomes her best friend and they eventually drift apart, I will tell her the story of our friendship. It will teach her that people do part sometimes and people do change, but it is important to keep the memories with you and to remember a person for who you knew them as. It will teach her a lesson, just as it did for me.
My parents still ask about you.
They know that we drifted apart and found new friends, but they still ask about you on occasion. With senior year coming to an end and graduation right around the corner, they ask a lot of questions about us. They wonder if we fixed things or if we have talked lately. They get a little disappointed when my answer is no. They tell me that we should talk, especially since we are going to the same college. They say that they miss seeing you around, but I just casually change the subject, because that conversation is pointless.
I am thankful for you.
You aren’t in my life anymore, but I’m thankful for the times that you were. I’m thankful for the times that you gave me a shoulder to cry on. I’m thankful that you would listen to my boy drama and give the best advice you could. I’m thankful that you were there to hold me up on my feet when I wasn’t able to. I’m thankful that you were by my side through thick and thin. Most of all, I’m thankful for the years of memories that I will remember for the rest of my life.
I never got to say goodbye, so here’s my goodbye.
It’s disappointing that we drifted apart the way we did. We didn’t even say goodbye to each other. We just simply quit talking. You quit recognizing my existence and I quit trying, so now I’m saying my farewell. You will always be the girl that knew all of my secrets. You will always have a place in my heart with the hundreds of memories that remain. You may have changed, but I will always remember who you were. People will still ask about you and I won’t be able to say you are my best friend, but instead, I’ll say you are just a girl I used to know. Thank you for the part you played in my life, but it’s over with and now there’s only one thing left for me to say; Goodbye.
