“Friends are the family you choose.” As cliché as this opening quote is, it speaks more than the truth. My friends are the additional siblings I’ve always wanted. Instead of just a younger brother, I now have older and younger siblings of both genders. Having this crazy extended family is how I make it through each day. However, I didn’t realize this until it was time to say goodbye.
Unfortunately, my best friends and I don’t have the luxury of continuing our everyday adventures though college due to us attending not only different schools, but schools in separate states. Of course our goodbyes weren’t really goodbyes, rather “see you later.” Nonetheless, this time later means in four months. I really have to thank my friends for being so great that it broke my heart to in leave them. I thought I knew all about love and heartbreak from a few high school crushes but let me tell you, the “see you later” said five hours before it was time for me to go were heart wrenching. It wasn’t just crying from the fact we were going to miss each other. It was more like sobbing because for the past years, whether it has been thirteen or four, we’ve been doing everything together and now we don’t know how we’re going to do it alone. I am so excited for all the big things happening for my friends and all the great we’re all going to do, I just really wish we could do it all together. I’m still their number one fan and I know they’ll be mine, but things are going to be different.
We’ll have our group chats and weekly group skype calls, but it’s going to be quite the adjustment for all of us. Here is about the time where I mention my gratitude towards technology for allowing us to stay just a phone call away. I’d say this is about one of the only times I think social media and technology are used for good. Regardless, it’s still really hard to do things like going shopping without it taking hours to send pictures to everyone and await opinions of either approval or suggestions to keep looking.
To my home friends, thank you for showing me true friendship. You have taught me what a good friend could and should be. With all the good and the bad, ordinary and life changing events, we’ve remained close. I love you guys.
To my future friends, I am so grateful to have you guys waiting for me at my new home with open arms. From my new dance team, my roommates and possibly even a sorority, these are the friends that will become family instantly. They are one of the biggest reasons I look forward to moving. You all are going to be some of the best things that have ever happened to me.
What I learned, from saying goodbye to my old friends and hello to my new ones, friends are how you deal with life. They get you through the bad times and make the good times better. They are little pieces of home when home isn’t around. They see you at your worst and still think you’re good enough to keep around. And trust me, they are so much better than relationships in my opinion. I never really worried about having a boyfriend because I already have my life partners in the form of best friends. All in all, I’m so thankful for my friends and I can only hope to reciprocate the love they’ve shown me to everyone else I encounter.
