There are 558 miles between Greenville, South Carolina, and Wildwood, Missouri, so 558 miles between my best friend and me. We are never in the same state, much less the same place, for more than two weeks at a time. We met under the most unlikely circumstances and started off hating each other over ten years ago, having our parents force us to become friends. From that moment on, something clicked, and needless to say, we have been best friends ever since.
We met when we were just kids at about the age of eight years old. She had never tried grits and I had never seen a hockey game, and so we taught each other about our hometowns and what we loved and how we spent our time. We were instant friends, sharing clothes and air mattresses because that's what friends do. We met at the beach, where both of our families happened to vacation, and so, when the summer inched closer to school, we parted ways and didn't see each another again...until the next summer, where we picked up right where we left off as we snorkeled for fish and stole pickles from the Marriot.
Now, instead of eight, we are nineteen, and she has been my closest friend for over a decade. We still live far apart, but now maybe even a little further, having our colleges sitting 1,011 miles away from each other--and that's taking the shortest route Google Maps has to offer. But regardless, we have never been closer.
She is the first person I call post-breakup, family crisis, failed test or college debacle. I know I can always count on her to be on the other end of the line and tell me what I need to hear, whether or not it's what I want to hear. She is one of the only people I keep up with on a daily basis and never get bored of conversations with. When I'm choosing clothes or messages to send I always get her opinion first, because she knows what I will end up happy with the next day. She knows my family and everything along with it, and I know hers too. I've even lived with them for a week, so I would say we are pretty close.
At 3 in the morning when I realize that all chaos has broken loose in my life, she is the first person I turn to cry, and hopefully, figure it all out. No matter what, she never judges me or my decisions, no matter how ridiculous and ill-thought out they may be. She is a role model in my life for her confidence and friendship, and I couldn't imagine being who I am today without her by my side. She is the only one who offered to drive those 1,011 miles when my life fell apart, and she is the one person I truly talk to about everything.
So thank you to my long distance best friend for being one of the the closest people in my life. Thanks for putting up with me for all these years, even when I was awkward and still wore my glasses halfway down my nose or got my first bad haircut (accidental afro). Thanks for being another tall girl beside me in pictures and making homemade face masks while Spongebob plays in the background. And even though we aren't eight years old anymore, I can't wait to see you for another two weeks, and steal Marriot pickles after we split a basket of Pazzi's fries.
