I attended the same school for 13 years. I walked through the doors of my school as a tiny kindergartener and exited as a slightly taller adult who was (semi) ready to go to college. I consider myself lucky because, for 12 of those years, I had an incredible friend at my side for absolutely everything. I met in 1st grade. I was sitting on a bench on the playground, and as cliche as it sounds, she walked up to me asked if I wanted to be her best friend. The rest, as I'm sure you can imagine, is history.

My best friend and I were inseparable during our time at school. All of our teachers in lower school knew that we were best friends, and described us as being attached at the hip. Our middle school advisor said we were just like an old married couple. We quite literally did everything together. If she was ever sick or missed a day of school, I would feel lost. We understood each other so well. We liked and laughed at the same random things. We were always blunt, and gave each other advice that we did not always want, but needed to hear. We cared for each other, and in sixth grade, I began to realize that she was more of a sister to me than a friend.

We were together for every Halloween, fall/spring concert, gingerbread house making event, birthday party, and dance. We also created a fake artistic world and even attempted (but failed) to make music videos to our favorite songs. The amount of inside jokes and memories that we have is quite honestly more detailed and longer than both the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series combined. All of my happiest memories from 2005-2017 involved Lauren, and that is insane!

As I've gotten older, I have come to appreciate the relationship that my friend and I had while we were at school. Friends like her are not only very uncommon but are also not something to take advantage of. Middle and high school can be very tough times for a kid, but not once did I think of it like that, because I had her. Ever since starting college, we honestly haven't been able to speak as much. It's difficult to juggle your life at college, while also holding on to the people from your past. But what I must make very clear, is that there are definitely a few people who are worth fighting for and holding onto. Make the effort to reach out. Call them in your free time, even if it's for a few minutes. Some people are just rare and special. That being said, I want to encourage any of you reading this to not ever lose these people from your life.