"It is when our plans go 'wrong' that wonderful,
Unforeseen things are allowed to occur."
"Everything comes at the right time.
Be patient."
"To have someone understand your mind
Is a different kind of intimacy."

Right at the time when I thought my whole world was crumbling and coming to a halt, did i find my best friends. Sure, I had groups of friends through high school that I could depend on, but this one was different.

We had all walked out (mostly) separate ways throughout those 4 years and had only smiled at each other in the hallway, or bad had been friends here and there, or didn't even know the others existed until the summer after senior year.

That summer, everything changed.

And when I say everything, I mean everything. Friend groups, relationship status, schools, living situation (moving to college.) Then, the unexpected happened.

That summer, everything changed.

9 individuals whose paths unexpectedly crossed one summer night, decided to come together.

As a group, we are the loudest, funniest, riskiest, most loving batch of people I've ever met. It baffles me how in such a short time span we all took to each other listening to one another's problems, sharing things we wouldn't normally share with someone we had just met, and connecting on a deep level.

Never had I ever imagined that my summer would do a complete 360 from what it could've been. In just 3 short months, we have taken dozens of trips to Buffalo Wild Wings, multiple drives down river road, spent countless hours around a bonfire, or in someone's backyard playing bags. To endless conversations about miscellaneous topics-whether they be serious or not at all.

Within our rag-tag group I bet you can't name one thing we all had in common before becoming friends. I have yet to meet a group of people who are also willing to say up until 4 A.M. talking about just anything and everything.

My favorite thing about our friend group is that when we're together I forget to check my phone, it's like nothing else in the world really matters. Work tomorrow? Who cares, at least you're here with friends. Plus, that just means you'll have more money for Buffalo Wild Wings. Rough breakup? I know that I have 5 other guys who will be my best friends, and a whole world full of boys who would be a potential boyfriend. Lose your keys? Know that you have 9 people who are willing to help you look for them until they are found. Having a hard time transitioning into college? What's better than a group of friends to come visit one weekend.

These instances are all reasons why I have a never-ending love for my group of friends. Marriage, the future and the topic of staying friends well int our old age has been the topic of our conversations recently. Before college, our conversations revolved around college and the new opportunity and world we all have yet to explore.

But now, not even a semester into college and we're all talking about the future. There's a sort of understanding that our friend group has one that I've tried to explain but struggle to find the words.

I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and we always question how and why we didn't find each other in high school, but there's a reason as to why we didn't.

Maybe it's because we wouldn't have been as close, or potentially because we didn't think we had anything in common.

Whatever that reason may be, I like to believe we found each other at just the right time.

There's a connection between us all, that I have again, tried to explain to others, but struggle to find the words. We all just get each other. I'm so grateful that we found each other when we did.

This past summer was one of the best and worst ones I have ever experienced. Because of our friend group I am able to have not one, not two or three, but 9 other people I know I can talk to no matter the situation, time of day or night, and no matter the distance between us.

I have a good memory to outweigh any bad memory in my mind, and I know I'll always have 9 people rooting for me and supporting me no matter what I do.