Four years ago, I was about to enter my freshman year at a small private school in the suburbs of New York City. It was my sixth year there, and my best friend Lauryn's tenth. By ninth grade, a lot of people were ready for a change and Lauryn was no exception. The first time she mentioned her desire to go to boarding school, I didn’t think much of it, then in January everything changed. She fell in love with a boarding school in Massachusetts and decided to apply. I wanted her to be happy, but part of me hoped she wouldn't get in, because I didn’t want her to leave. She was accepted and was ecstatic. I could never have prepared myself for the day in September when I had to say goodbye. That day will always be ingrained in my memory. It was my birthday and we were out to dinner with my family, I was not my usual cheery, smiley self, and I would not look over at Lauryn. She asked me what was wrong and I responded “you’re leaving today”. What I didn’t comprehend at the time was that she was feeling the same way I was, she was just better at hiding it. When her dad came to pick her up, I looked at her and started sobbing, and when she saw me, she joined in. There we were on the front step clinging on to one another with tears streaming down our faces, neither of us wanting to be the first to let go. “It’s okay Anna, we will see each other soon” she said to me, breaking away, the tears still rolling down her face.

That was the hardest day of my life, and while both of us knew we would remain friends, we just didn’t know how this was going to work. There were days and even weeks when we wouldn’t talk, but I knew she was thinking of me just as I was of her. And when she came home for Thanksgiving, it was one of the happiest moments of my life. Each time she left, it got easier and easier until I didn't feel sad at all, knowing I would talk to her soon. Through her first two years, we only talked about every week or so, but our friendship was still as strong as ever. There were days when I missed her like crazy, when even being with my other friends couldn’t cheer me up, and I would text her just to tell her I loved and missed her. I worried that she would replace me with new friends, but when I went to visit her at school, she introduced me as "my best friend Anna" and many commented that they had heard so much about me, so after one semester, I had nothing to worry about.

During Senior year we both went through some rough patches with our friends at school, so we talked to each other constantly. In fact, I would wander around campus after school talking to her, updating each other about our friends, classes, and families. During the last semester, we were on the phone every night, usually just doing homework, watching Netflix, or reading, not even talking to each other. Just knowing she was there was one the best feelings in the world. We only hung up when one of us fell asleep, in fact, one time, we forgot to hang up and I woke up at 5:30 am still on the phone with her.

We had always joked about ending up at the same school, so when she chose Howard University in March, I was ecstatic. After three years of being apart we would finally be together in the same city. We joke that she was the only one I had to say goodbye to for the last three years, and suddenly, is the only one I don’t have to say goodbye to when I leave for college in just a few weeks. I think these last few years have brought us even closer, as we were able to truly appreciate our special bond. I am so lucky to be able to call her my best friend, and as our mom’s would say, my sister.