When i think about my life and the people that have come and gone, i realized that i have been so blessed with people who have started as friends and become family. These people are the people who have become so close to me that they know me better than i know my self. I am taking this moment to thank them. Thank them for making a difference in my life that at first glance may seem insignificant, but in the long run made me the strong, independent and willful woman that I am today.
High school can be a difficult time for many people. It is a time when we grow into the people we are meant to be. A transition time from child to young adult. I believe that the friends we have during that time can make or break the experience of high school for us. In my case it made it. My high school years completely revolved around my friends. We called ourselves “the six.” Six of us who throughout highschool became best friends. Granted, there were years that some of us were a little bit closer than others of us and of course we had other friends as well, but in the end it came down to just us six. We played volleyball together, got in trouble together, got out of trouble together, covered for each other, had class together and spent every weekend trying to find something more fun to do. We weren’t the crazy party girls or the goody goodies-we were just six girls trying to figure out high school the best we could. The memories of our spring breaks to destin and random road trips together are memories that I will have with me forever. The way we could so easily make fun of each other (blue lips?) and always know what each other was thinking (boys are…) made our friendship even stronger. One of the hardest parts about moving away from home was moving away from them. They were my entire life and the first couple months without them I didn’t know how I was going to make it. Of course time passed and I developed new relationships, but those girls–my six–will forever be the example of who a best friend should be. They were there the first time I drove a car, for my first kiss, for my first breakup, the first time I ever drank, the first time I got into serious trouble and countless other times that only they would really understand. I can not thank them enough for how much their influence shaped me throughout high school and continues to today.
Now we are all grown up, all moving on with our lives and forming families of our own. It’s hard to believe the first one of us is getting married this summer. As much as I miss the old days of lazy summer days around the pool and brisk fall nights at the football games, I can’t wait to share the next phase of life with them. Though we are far away from each other I still consider each and every one of them a part of my family. Jobs and committments and relationships may take a lot of time away from my time with them but I know they are a quick ride or a phone call away. And no matter how much time has passed since the last time I saw or spoke to them it always seems like just yesterday.
So to my six:
I miss you all more than you know. Thank you for the support, understanding, encouragment and friendship that you all have shown me over the last 9 years. (9 years, can you believe it??) I love you all and can not wait until we are all reunited this summer at the wedding. But until then just remember:
“Well in the end, we can all call a friend, well that’s something that I know as true
In a thousand years, and a thousand tears, I’ll come finding my original crew
Cause to me throughout eternity there is somewhere we are welcome to go
I said it’s something free that means a lot to me, when I’m with my friends I feel home”
❤
Love, American Beautiful 