For The Friends That Stuck With Me Since High School

Thank you for dealing with me.

Now? I think I’m a pretty fun person to be around. But back in high school? I was a complete mess. I don’t know how you dealt with all of my whining and existential crises, let alone how you actually enjoyed spending time with me. So thank you for being my friend, even back when I was filled with teenage angst and anger at the world.

I know it’s hard to keep in touch.

I don’t mind going a month without hanging out with you, because when we do see each other, it feels the same as always. Of course, things aren’t the same as they were back in high school. I don’t see you every single day in the cafeteria and hall. I’m lucky if I see you once a week. Don’t assume that I don’t care about you, because we don’t keep in touch as much as we used to. I still love you. I’m just busy, and I know you are, too.

I don’t know what I’d do without you.

I’m happy I have someone like you in my life, someone that knows how far I’ve come. Someone that remembers I used to walk around with clumpy mascara and and refused to speak in front of strangers. Someone that realizes that I’ve worked hard to change myself into a person I’m proud of. Into a person that’s (somewhat) successful. Into the person that I was always meant to be.

I can be my (insane) self around you.

Now that I’m technically an adult, I have new friends that I feel the need to act mature around. Sure, I’ll let loose in front of them, but I won’t act completely and utterly insane. But I can do that in front of you. I can tell you any secret and make any joke. You’ve heard it all before. It can’t be any worse than the stuff I said to you back in high school.

We have a million memories.

When I tell my boyfriend about prom or about the pathetic Physics class I took, he doesn’t really understand. It’s one of those you-had-to-be-there moments. That’s why I’m glad I have you. Someone to relive my shitty high school days with. Someone that I can laugh about the past with it, instead of being haunted by it.

You’re basically family.

You can walk through the door without knocking. You can open our fridge without asking. And if you ever got drunk and needed a ride home, my mother would be happy to help you out. I’ve known you for so long that you feel like family. You are family.

I’m proud of you.

I might not tell you this often enough, but you’re pretty damn amazing. I’m repeatedly impressed by you in ways that you’ve never even realized. I know you don’t think much of yourself, but I think the world of you. And I feel blessed to have you in my life.