She has always been my rock. My wingwoman. My safe place. My person. She and I will always be friends, till the end of time. Till we grow old. Till we wrap our arms around each other for the last time. She will forever have a place in my heart, and I will in hers. If we could, we would be sisters, soul mates, or the pieces to a puzzle all at the same time. I truly believe we were destined to find each other no matter the universal time frame. Now, I could talk your ear off about how special our friendship is through gratitude and example, but what we have speaks for itself. If I could just spend the rest of my life with her, beside her side, I would. There have not only been memories and events that have formed what we have. But the amount of time and moments we cherish with each other is so strong, it’s the glue that holds this bond together. I can’t express the loads of comfort I feel everytime I think or am with her, just like a warm blanket on a cold winter day. If only I could channel how she makes me feel to others around me, the world would be a much better and happier place. To put this in perspective, significant memories I hold close to my heart give all the reasons in the world as to why I know we were meant for each other. At these times in my life, I felt at a peak of nourishment, contentment, and love.

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Even though we technically knew each other from the second we came into this world, we didn’t truly, consciously meet until around 6. At the young ages of 6 through to about 12, only being 15 days apart, we did everything together. That is, whenever I could get my mom to drive me to her house for the 5th time that week. I was convinced we were sisters, and was always so confused as to why we didn’t live together. I just thought it was because our moms decided to have two houses we could all just share. Obviously that wasn’t the case, but I let myself believe and make sense of something I wished so intensely. The sleepovers started around this time as well, and as soon as that began, there was no going back. Little me would look forward to sleepovers with her as if it was christmas morning, except every weekend. We would take our time together very seriously, as soon as we could see each other regularly. By making a to-do list the second I walk in the door and decorating it like Picasso's best work. It was always the same list. Always.

Bake a cake.
Make slime.
Play with shopkins.
Play barbies.
Drive on the golf cart through the woods.
Play American girl dolls.
Choreograph a dance routine (and make her mom watch and videotape us like we were in a concert with thousands of eyes on us)
TEA PARTY while watching a barbie movie.

We kept ourselves busy, but it wasn't a busy that was just keeping us occupied. It was us being kids and us forming our friendship. We turned this to-do list into a ritual for us but it never just stopped with a tea party. We would make our own adventures every time. Weather that was telling ourselves we would go on a 3am walk outside with flashlights pretending we were walking on ghost territory just for her to fall asleep at 11pm. Or finding a hurt bird on the side of the road and making it a house out of cardboard with worms we dug up for food. To say the least, it was never a dull moment. As we grew up within each others childhoods, we were able to lean on each other. Not only rely, but have the opportunity to grow and learn through life and through each others circumstances. That way, we could understand each other at a level not usually reached, especially at a very young age. It wasn’t that her home was my home too, but being with her was being home.

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I still vastly remember the amount of times we would try to do something that would prove the meaning of our friendship and be able to look back on it as we grew up. Making vlogs just so our older versions of the friendship we have built could see us then. See what has changed, yet stayed the same through it all. Bouncing on yoga balls bumping into each other, laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe for minutes at a time. Being in her room fitting both of our personalities combined, which is not the same room she has now, sucks us in every play date. These little visions of ourselves being captured through a screen, on a vlog camera that we had taken from her dads office, making it one of the many missions of ours. At this point in time we were little, meaning around the age of 8 I want to say. Always causing little troubles for her parents like this one. Don’t worry, we gave it back.
“Come on Jay, grab the camera and run!” she would giggle and pant as we bolted around the corner, down the hall, into her room lunging on the bed.
“That was a close one, do you think he will find out?” I would whisper while catching my breath.
“No way! We are the sneakiest ones on the block! And besides, we needed this to make our movie. Our vlog to show our kids when we’re older!” she would eagerly assure me.
“You’re right, you’re always right! We were literally as sneaky as Barbie was in the latest Barbie Detective movie we watched the other day” I would compare. “And yes, our kids are going to see these vlogs and we will be able to look back at how silly we were! How fun we are!” I would exclaim.
“We are so fun Jay. You and me, till the end.” she would always say with her love in her eyes.
That’s what we had. We had the ability to take things like making a video of ourselves, into something that we could relate to in the future because we knew we would be together in the future. That we could look back and watch these funny videos with our kids. Side by side. No doubt. That day, and that first vlog, was just the beginning.
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As the years passed, we grew closer and closer even though it always seemed impossible. We did. Even though we would slowly not be able to see each other as much as we used to, and our lives got busier and busier, she was always my first option. Being friends with her has not only given me a connection I will never forget but opportunities of a lifetime. Our worlds are very different, yet we can understand each others to the level we need sometimes. While she was blessed in some ways, I was blessed in others, but we always made it a point to share those strengths and even weaknesses with each other. For example, she was given an amazing opportunity that I was lucky enough to be a part of as well. On our friendship bucket list sat: going on a BFF vacation trip. Getting to experience a trip like Hawaii with my best friend was a dream come true. It started out as an idea and simply a topic of conversation for so long. Yet nothing convincing us or telling us it would ever be a reality. Until one day. Between a ton of convincing within each of our parents, the both of us were able to secure a BFF vacation trip to Hawaii. The absolute best experience of my life, and I got to spend it with her. The days on this vacation felt like a fever dream, waking up every morning to the shine from the beach piercing through our shades, hearing the birds chirping and waves crashing. There was no better feeling, other than as the days went on. The only worries we had were to love each other, find a spot on the beach, and not miss our dinner reservations. It was almost as if I was in heaven with my best friend, being somewhere you love and being with someone you love is an unsurpassed sensation. I don’t think that there was even for a second, both of us weren’t smiling or laughing so diligently whether it was because of the food we ate, rocks we found in the ocean, or when she smashed a cupcake in my face as it went all over the couch. While making memories together from this trip was on the top of our priorities, we brought disposable cameras and just took tons of pictures throughout our time there. Once we came back we were able to print them out and I still have them all sorted into a collage on my wall right next to my bed. So I can always remember and bring the joy we spent together with me every time I look at them.
It was never the things we did or places we saw that formed our friendship the way it is today, but the genuine and raw need for one another no matter what we did together or a part makes the two of us inseparable. Along with Hawaii, it doesn’t stop there, we are going to travel the world together and just be on the journey of life together in general.

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Life has happened and struggles have happened within both of our lives separately, that will never change. However, the foundation and overwhelming support we can show each other time and time again forced us to emotionally connect even when we couldn’t physically. We don’t see each other often now, but when we do we still hold onto little traditions and actions that made it so if we were to not see each other for years after that, it would all be okay. There are rings, necklaces, and bracelets to signify our friendship. There are posters and an unending supply of pictures to signify our friendship. However, while those are all materialistic, I think the best thing that can never be lost or destroyed that signifies our friendship is authentically, every time we say “See you later”, we blow each other kisses. Blowing kisses to each other connects us even when we are apart, and is just another one of the pieces to our puzzle.
I would like to end with this: A good friend is one who understands your strengths and weaknesses and still cherishes you for who you are. This is something that she has not only shown me, but taught me in countless ways. I don’t even think “friend” is a word that cuts it for her. She is an indescribable person in my life who not only makes it better, but I wouldn’t be able to live without.