People change. Relationships change. Change is inevitable. People are constantly coming into our lives and people are constantly leaving. We learn to accept that nothing lasts forever and not to get disappointed when people let us down. That's just the way life is. Friendships that once burned bright with love and trust fizzle out over the course of a few years. Friendships that lasted for years are altered by a single choice that turns stories into past memories. But every once and a while, you meet that person who's in it for the long run. You meet that friend who becomes a part of your daily life. That person is a constant in a quickly changing world. That person is someone that you can always come back to when life gets tough. That person will always be there for you through the good and the bad times.
Some friendships just happen. A distinct memory of how you became close doesn't exist. One day you were strangers, the next you were best friends. You try to relive that fateful day when the two of you clicked, but neither of you remembers when that day was. You've been friends for as long as you remember. Maybe it was in elementary school on the playground. Or maybe in middle school when you bonded over your Vera Bradley lunch boxes. Or maybe in high school, when you had the same lunch and a mutual friend introduced you to each other. Either way, the legendary story of your friendship is a blurry moment in the past that neither of you remembers. Instead, you'd rather focus on the memories already made and get ready for the future ones to come.
As you went through your high school years, your parents probably told you all the time that your friend circle would change. That was something you refused to believe until your senior year. Most of your best friends from freshman year had moved on to other groups and interests. You went from a full-on squad to something like the three amigos. But quality over quantity, and that best friend still stood at your side. Your partner in crime. Your ride or die.
But high school was the easy part. You lived probably 15 minutes away from each other, tops. Then college happened. As much as you loved each other, you had to go separate ways for what was best for each of you. Goodbyes are hard, especially when you don't know when you'll see each other again. People say long distance relationships are hard, but have you tried a long distance friendship? It's just as hard, if not harder. You're so used to seeing each other every day and catching up on daily drama. But when you go away to college, you each make new friendships and friend groups. Your lives change. It's scary. You don't know if you both will be the same when you see each other again. Maybe she'll meet the love of her life and that's the last time you'll hear from her. Or maybe she'll become a part of a Greek organization and it becomes her life. Or maybe she just outgrows you. Either way, years of memories are at the mercy of a few months of college.
Maybe you talked every day. Maybe you didn't talk at all. You always had so much to tell her, but it wasn't the same. You two were living two new lives. She doesn't know your roommate like you do or that boy you just met. She doesn't know your sisters in your sorority or that professor everyone hates. Life just isn't the same anymore.
When you come back for a break you have your doubts. You know things have changed. In fact, a lot has. More than you thought would. You swore you wouldn't lose touch with some of your best friends. But soon enough, daily texts turned into weekly, then weekly texts turned to monthly, then monthly turned to nothing. But that's college. It changes people for the better and sometimes for the worse. Their true colors come out. It turns people who you thought were going to be your bridesmaids into people who wouldn't even notice you passing on the street.
But true best friends never disappoint. "Awkward" isn't in your vocabulary, even if months have passed since you've seen each other. After all the worrying about change, you've really proven to each other that true friendship doesn't change no matter how many miles are between you. The jokes, the conversations, the fun, everything is still the same. Sure, you might share your lives at school, but she's still in your heart.
Whoever said distance was too much to make something work obviously didn't try hard enough. There is rarely a feeling that is better than catching up with one of your best friends. A feeling that is so amazing to know is that despite the time apart, nothing has changed. Sure, you both might have grown up a little more and made a life in your new town, but that was expected. What wasn't expected was the fact that the connection between the two of you didn't change at all.
Finding a true friend is difficult. You never know who is truly there for you until you've hit your lowest point. Fortunately, the ones who stick around are likely to be by your side for the rest of your life. You might reach different points in your lives, live in different parts of the country and might not talk very often, but you'll always know that she's the same person that you became so close to all those years ago. Life might throw curve balls at you, causing your life to change, but nothing will change the friendship between you two. Not your other friends, not your family, not even life.
