I absolutely love my new friends here at my university. I have made a few good quality friends and we are together most of the time just because we click so well. Some days I still reminisce the “good old days” with my friends back in high school.

When I was in high school, my friends and I were known as the crazy band group. We were all so similar, we were in marching band together, and the same sense of humor, we all got along to the very end. I LOVE my high school friends, I think about them all the time even though I moved 700 miles away from them and they all stayed close to home, I love them all. The ones who supposedly betrayed me, the ones who barely talked, the ones that are still in high school, and the ones I keep in contact with regularly. I LOVE THEM ALL AND WILL ALWAYS LOVE THEM.

This week, I am writing an open letter to all of them!

*Please note that pseudonyms were used to protect their identities, these people will know who they are by their open letters, trust me*

Meghan,

We still talk maybe once or twice every other week. You helped me through all of my “mental” problems, my crazy days, my sad days, my happy days, my lonely days, etc. You still stuck with me even though I threw that empty bottle at your head when we were kids. We fought, we cried, we danced, singed, we did almost everything together. You are my best friend. You are still there for me when I have tough days of dealing with homesickness or my own head. You are there, and I miss you. I miss when we could just look at each other and know what we were thinking. We had our own little conversations just through stares. We made each other promises that we never broke, we were the stereotypical best friends in the books, you and me we had that click. I miss seeing you every day and I can’t wait until I get to see you again.

Melanie,

We have known each other for almost 14 years, we literally fought over a friend and then ended up becoming friends. We walked next to each other at graduation, literally man, one of the best days of my life. We watched each other become [somewhat] responsible adults in this big world. You stayed close to home and I drove far away. I see the things you post and I am always happy and proud of you. Some steps are harder to climb than others but we helped each other out through the years, and I will always try to help when I can. It was really hard for me to drive away knowing that the people that I love may need help, and I wouldn’t be 5 minutes away able to help them. Sometime life deals out really crappy cards, but we learned to play these cards well. I still remember our stuffed cows and that we thought the word “yinz” was something else. I will always think of the good memories, because there weren’t many bad, but because we had both, that is what makes us good friends for many years to come!

Emma,

We became really close at the end of sophomore year, when we were ditched, at an amusement park. You have one of the quirkiest laughs I have ever heard, our humor is just the same and you are an awesome “husband.” When you walk into a room everyone knows that it is going to be a good time because you can make anyone laugh even if they are crying. You copied me by flipping your car, we have too many inside jokes, and you will always be my “husband” even though you have an awesome boyfriend. Emma, I miss your constant laughing, your glowing personality, and your warm and thoughtful hugs. Seeing your updates on social media of your life makes me happy and sad just because I am so far away. I miss you Emma, I can’t wait to see you again!

Abby,

You. You are just great. We started getting really close when I joined marching band my freshman year. You are literally the support system of the group and you are not afraid to tell anyone “I told you so.” You have helped me out in so many ways throughout the years. Your fashion sense is always on point and you are just so fabulous and extra. I NEED YOUR EXTRA IN MY LIFE!!!! Your hair color always seems to match your personality (I really don’t know how you do it). I have many fond memories of you, *cough* Disney World *cough.* We used to go out on little friend dates to our favorite restaurant when I had Betty (Betty was MY first car) and we would just sit, eat, and laugh until we had everyone staring at us. When I come back in during break, we will have to get together and just, laugh.

Paige,

You can care WAYYY TOO MUCH… That can be a good thing and a bad thing at times, but that’s okay you helped me and others get through many things the last couple of years, you were another support system. You were literally the mom, you forced people to tell you what was wrong with them, and then you helped them get through whatever they were going through. Thank you. My earliest memory of you was with our other friend, Lexi, in science class, 8^th grade, for three minutes……. (And you didn’t even notice) You are a good friend with good intentions, and I am so happy that you are doing well and that you are happy. You looked very happy with your mini trip to NY with Abby J

Lexi,

My earliest memory of you….. three minutes, and Paige didn’t notice. Anyways, you were always there to support and lighten the air when it was needed. You always had that stereotypical blonde personality, and it was put to good use our senior year during English and band. We were partners in crime, you the President, me the Vice President, we made senior year Band Awesome! I am glad that you are doing well and you seem very happy post-high school.

Emily,

You would always go out of your way to help others even though you lived far out of town. One of my favorite memories that I think about is when we had that party at your house and we scared Meghan to death. I still think about that party to this day, we played the slender man video game and the screen was pink and we couldn’t get it to be normal AT ALL! We had sooo much fun that day! We definitely became closer our senior year because of marching band and we had study hall together, so many memories from study hall dude! I really want to see you and the others when I come back to our small town this upcoming break!

Olive,

I know that you have a few more years of high school left on your belt, and the only reason why you are passing calculus is from my encouraging words. I will always be there to give you encouraging words when you need, just like how you did it for me these last few years. You and I did so many things together inside and outside of school. We were co-captains for color guard, we went to movies together, we drove around, had sleep overs, and you were even my prom date senior year. You still give me hope for our future generation of color guard members, we had to make up routines, help others (even when it seemed impossible). I just want you to remember that you are a strong, confident young lady and that you are VERY SMART FOR YOUR OWN GOOD. You are going to do many great things in your life, if you want something, you get it. I love you, and I can’t wait to see you at the end of this year because you are my littlest of reds!

Jess,

You are my darling little kitten, and just think that this is your last year of high school and you do not have to deal with that place anymore. I miss having you around and making me smile constantly. You were not handed the best cards this year, but you are still slaying the game. You make the whole world smile, and while the world is smiling you have that cute giggle that makes me even happier. We definitely became close during marching band and I remember teaching you how to twirl a sabre just to do a salute for marching band (priceless). Any time I took a picture of you it would be perfect, you are so photogenic, when we would take a picture together, and there would be a supermodel (you) and a sack of potatoes (me) in the picture. Even though you are technically 4 days older than me, I really wish that you could have graduated with us, if felt really bad leaving you and the others behind in that small town, but I always promised to come back! (Trust me, I will be back to get you!)

Jenna,

We have soo many memories together, it is so hard to pick one. Girl scouts, New Year’s Eve, midnight monopoly, etc. You are going to go soo far in your life, you know that if you ever need support, you have a whole fan base out here in Wisconsin. We got you man. I had so much fun with you a few weeks ago when I came back home to Pennsylvania for a weekend, it was great! I can’t wait to hang with you again like we normally do during the holiday season, trust me, it’s going to be lit! I am SOOO GLAD that school is going well for you and life (in general). Any time I think of you I get really bubbly inside because I am just soo happy for you! I love ya Jenna, I can’t wait to see ya!

Kylee,

I am sorry that we didn’t have the best ending, and I still feel really bad how our friendship ended up, but I just wanted to let you know that I care. We were all just heated up in the moment, I didn’t think clearly, but what we heard hurt many people. I wish I could have just cut the new girl that I constantly poked in the back out of my life, but I can’t and I won’t. There are too many happy memories that we have and I can never forget those, you are on my wall of photos in my dorm, along with the others. Everyone pictured on my wall is someone that I care about. EVERYONE, INCLUDING YOU, IS ON MY WALL.

To all my friends, present and lost, I will always be here, I am not going anywhere. I AM A PHONE CALL OR TEXT AWAY. I can’t wait to see you guys this winter when I come home for break. I want a hug and a dinner date with all of you that are willing to see me!

**These letters might seem similar to your own high school friendships, and I hope they are, because all of my high school friends are AMAZING, and they still are!**

This was an open letter to my friends back home, graduated or stuck in school. This may be open to the public for the whole world to see, I tried my best to keep every memory clean and anonymous. I encourage anyone reading this to write an open letter to your friends, lost or present, it will mean something to them, trust me.

I love you guys, see you soon. :)