Best Friends

INTRODUCTION: We all have a best friend. Can you picture your best friend right now? To me, a best friend is someone who will be there for you, no matter what. A best friend is not only a friend but also family. Surely, Best friends and best memories go together.

P1: Eilish and I first met in year two, 2008. We were in room five at the old school. That morning was a rush, and I had run into the classroom late, or on my terms on time. I was generally tardy during primary school. Quickly, sitting on the mat, I tried to act as if I had been there all along. Then, there she was, standing at the front of the classroom amongst the other new students. We were paired together as ‘buddies’ so I could show her around the school, but let’s just say that it wasn’t best friends at first sight. I remember her playing on the playground with my friends, and me being little me, I had thought that she’d ditched me. But she still swears that It was the opposite, so there is still a little controversy over that. We never hung out again after that. Although we always recognised each other we would never say hello. After that year she left school to be homeschooled, so we didn’t properly meet again until she joined the Wanaka Swim Club Fitness group six years later. Astelia and I made friends with her quickly. And that was the beginning of our friendship, well, sort of.

P2: Although we clicked as friends I would always turn her down when she asked if I wanted to hang out. I would use my Mothers upcoming wedding as an excuse when, in all honesty, I just really couldn’t be bothered. At last, I finally agreed to hang out with her. What we did that day, I can’t remember, but I do remember that it was one of the days that we’ve both been at our happiest… and that was the real beginning of our friendship. From that day we became closer and closer, to the point that we had code symbols for things, such as * for when two of the people in our swim group, were being annoying due to their constant flirting.

P3: Our relationship has now brought us so close, that it doesn’t matter if we go for a month or more without contact. Because we know that our friendship is strong enough that it doesn’t make a difference. So when we see each other again it’s like we were never apart. We can often sense when the other isn’t feeling the best, even when we aren’t texting each other or hanging out at the time. We like to think that this makes us soul sisters. Which then leads me to my next point, we don’t just say that we are sisters, we actually mean it. Her family are now mine, as mine is hers. Three weeks ago, I got the news that they were moving. Her family offered for me to move with them to Dunedin. This was so touching, but I knew that my parents would never say yes. She then brought up how she might be going to school there, which is a coincidence because I had been considering boarding school. Although she is leaving and I am no longer considering boarding school, we have made plans to catch the bus to meet each other on weekends, our birthdays, boxing day for a second family Christmas and new years. Our friendship has pulled through a lot and it can pull through this too.

CONCLUSION: Overall, we have grown together. We often go through the same growing curves at the same time and help pull each other through. Without her, I don’t know where I’d be. Six or more years ago another good friend gave me a poem, that I know by heart. It summarises what she is to me. It read: “A best friend is a treasured gift, a prize beyond compare, someone who shares the bad an good you know is always there. A best friend listens patiently to every word you say, but most of all a best friend is like you in every way.”