The much anticipated day had finally arrived. It had been exactly 86 days since I had last seen my best friend from high school. Actually, our friendship started in 6th grade and we hadn’t left each other’s sides since then. At one point, it was a possibility that we would end up at college together. But that didn’t happen, and we cried the day we realized that last February.
So, this was the longest we had ever gone without seeing each other. And… it was just as hard as I thought it was going to be. Actually, I think it was harder. While we FaceTimed and texted daily, it was still very different from seeing her every day at school and working at the same day camp this summer.
From miles away, we would talk about our new friends, classes, and sororities, but it was difficult. While I knew all her new friends’ names, I didn’t know them. I felt “out of the loop” in regards to her new life in Madison, Wisconsin. And it sucked.
But, we had finally made it! The day that we had been counting down to since we both left for school was here---November 17th to be exact. As I pulled into Madison, our reunion consisted of something like this: me sprinting out of the cab and almost forgetting to pay the driver, us nearly tackling each other out of happiness, and tears running down both of our faces.
It was straight out of a Hollywood movie. The kind that is happy and sad simultaneously. It really was like no time had passed. We immediately caught up on everything in her room and at dinner that night, we were dying of laughter, telling stories, and just “being us.” We were back and better than ever.
The next day was game day. While Michigan got destroyed by Wisconsin, the day was nonetheless incredible. Getting to meet my best friend’s new “crew,” going to Camp Randall to “jump around,” and seeing her new city was not only fun, it seemed almost necessary.
That weekend definitely goes down in the books as one of the best times I’ve ever had with her. If at all possible, I highly recommend visiting your best friend in their new school, so you can actually picture them there, with your own eyes.
To my best friend, thanks for being you. Lake Michigan may physically separate us, but nothing can stop our friendship and emotional tie. I want you to know that I was even cheering on the Badgers during the Wisconsin/Ohio State game last Saturday. Thanks for being there for me, always. Love you from Ann Arbor to Madison and back a million times.