Sorry guys, but here’s the cold fact: people come and go. Whether you like hearing this or not, it’s the truth. As you might know already, NNHS is my eighth school and I lived in five different places. The first actual move I remember (because I was old enough to understand what was going on) is from North Carolina to Colorado. I remember being curled up in my bed, tears dotting my pillows, shaking back and forth, hyperventilating for practically the whole night until my body wore out and I fell asleep. After that, each move and switches to different schools and states became much easier. I learned to develop a hard wall around myself as more people entered my life and I left theirs quite shortly after.
My First Best Friend:
Her name was Erica, but I’m not quite what her last name was. Our friendship developed at either my first or second elementary school. We would hang out at the playground a lot. She would convince me that she had a pet cat that I couldn’t see and that this cat would follow her around everywhere. She even invited me to my first ever birthday party at the local pottery place. In her honor, I chose to paint a gray cat with light blue eyes. I don’t remember how, but somehow I got her address when I moved to Colorado. We kept in touch for a few months by sending letters back and forth and leaving a small present in each envelope. But then life caught up to us and we couldn’t be bothered to send letters to each other anymore.
Middle School:
Ah yes, middle school–some of our finest years in life… and some of our worst. I’m just going to gloss over this part of my life because a lot of it is personal to me and truth be told, I don’t particularly want some of this type of information to be spread around school. You would understand, right? I mean, our school always spreads around the worst rumors about you. But I will tell you this, I met some of the best people ever in middle school. My friends were amazing! We would always hang out, go to Target, and wild out at each other’s houses. But alas, all good things must come to an end. Bad news came and before I knew it, I was moving again. This time is to Naperville, Illinois.
My First Best Friend in Naperville:
His name must not be said but a lot of you might know who I’m talking about. I’m going to gloss over these details too. We would hang out all the time. And when I say all the time, I mean all the time. We would go to Target, and hang out at his house, my house, or another friend’s house. We had our ups and downs but we always made up after. In sophomore year, this friend grew distant with me, but I couldn’t fathom why. He started becoming the meanest person I have ever met and it was like a mask had been formed over his face because I knew deep down the person he was. But that’s the way life is: people come and go.
My Current Best Friend:
I guess this kinda serves as an appreciation paragraph for the one of the most amazing people I have ever met. We bonded senior year and grew closer and closer together. I could allow myself to be vulnerable around her and she could do the same around me. Every Friday night, we would hang out and call it a girls’ night. During girls’ night, we’d talk about our week and our day and let our thoughts loose. It’s actually quite therapeutic. She was there for me through thick and thin and she stood by my side through my hard times. @TZ, this one’s for you 😉 But like I said, people come and go. College will most likely be the result of us growing apart, even if we try to not let it happen.
Honestly, people come and go. Speaking from my experience, this is most definitely true. But, you might as well enjoy the ride while it lasts and hold on to those good ol’ memories before they all become distant memories.
Lol, sorry for the lowkey sad post y’all. Next blog will be more happy, I promise. 🙂
Kelly, your blog not only shows your friendship evolution within the past years, but it also shows your evolution as an individual, which is the most important thing. Despite not being in contact with some people in your life anymore, you learned something from them and they’ve learned something from you. In life, we all grow apart. It’s natural, kind of sad, but realistic. However, when you know you have someone in your life who makes the good times greater, who makes the sad times bearable… that’s when you know you have a lifelong friend. It’s hard to come by, but it seems you’ve found that person 🙂 Great Blog!
Hey, Kelly. My story is a bit similar to yours. Although for the first 13 years of my life, I was basically in my own little suburban bubble, the last 5 years have been a period of great change. I know it sounds a bit cliche , but I can hardly recognize the 13 year old “me”. Throughout these four years, my expectations of people/friends have dropped to rockbottom. Now I’m on the verge of being a misanthrope who doesn’t trust anyone. I fear that if I continue down his path, I might have no friends left. Just “acquaintances”. Throughout my five years, I have seen my friends grow distant & understood the futility of human bonding in my ever-changing life. I have constantly maintained “acquaintances”, no friends because of this suspicion I gained via my experiences. The only people who I call “friends” are really hard to come by. These people are those whom I trust the most. I have only had 4 of these friends in my past 5 years. It’s nice to know that you’ve founds very good friends throughout your journey & I wish you find more of them. I shall be on the lookout too. Anyways just wanted to share my experience as well.
Hey KK, I absolutely loved this blog! Even though it brings up many sad notes, it’s also the dose of reality that we often need in our lives. I’m happy that you are able to come to terms with the harsh realities of many bonds being temporary but also cherish the memories that you have made. This is definitely a mindset that I need to develop and I appreciate you for bringing this to my attention. Sad notes aside, I hope our friendship lasts past high school and I’ll drive down and visit you every weekend so you can bring me to parties because I don’t think I’ll be able to party that much 🙂
Hey Kelly, I really enjoyed your post. I’ve also moved around a bit, but not throughout different states. I’ve only moved around within Illinois, but even then, it’s quite easy to see how fast people grow apart. But I think a large part of people coming and going, although it can be sad, is more so how grateful we should be in the present for who we have right now. From my kindergarten best friends from a Christian school to my 5th grade best friends from my time living in Chicago, I’m so thankful I got to know each of them. Obviously, with social media and all that it’s easier now to keep in touch with each other, so hopefully you and Taylor can continue to bond into college!