It seems like there’s been a renaissance among my group of friends this year. These are the women I’ve known since high school. Some of us go all the way back to the same elementary school. All of us went through middle and high school together. Many of us went to the same college. Some of us now live in the same city. Some of us now live far apart. But regardless, these are the ladies I count as some of my closest friends. In a lot of ways, I think our group is unique. All of us remained friends through high school, which is a feat in itself with all of the catty things teenage girls do to each other. We stayed friends through college, always picked up in the same place over fall break, holidays and summer vacations. Now we’re women. Some of us are finishing graduate school. We’re student teaching, working, travelling. Some of us are buying houses, some of us are living at home, some of us are in tiny apartments—and I love how that even though we’re in such different places in our lives, we still share so many of the same stories and memories.
Even though our lives are vastly different at this point, this past year has brought me so much closer to these girls, even though I’ve moved away. I’ve seen a change in all of us over the past year. Something must happen in our third year out of college that transforms us into adults. We’ve become friends that truly, TRULY want to celebrate the joy, happiness and love in each other’s lives with not an ounce of jealousy, scorn or wishing that it was “mine.” I’m sure a lot of this was born in high school when we’re constantly comparing ourselves to our little group. Wondering if we’ll ever have a boyfriend, a SAT score or a butt as good as one of our friends. The comparison is exhausting and it makes us resent the parts of our friends that make them the beautiful people that they are.
But twenty-five has erased that for us. We’re simply just proud of each other. We’re all trying to become better people and supporting each other with the kind of friendship that lifts us up. We’ve become so much smarter, we’re more honest, and we’re easier to get along with. We’ve mellowed while becoming stronger women.
We’ve been through a lot together. We’ve been there for a lot of firsts in each other’s lives. We know the stories, the songs, the boyfriends, the parties, the heartbreaks that have shaped us into the women we are. We’ve cried together, we’ve called each other in the middle of the night, and we’ve driven (and flown) a lot of miles to see each other during good times and bad. We’ve taken vacations, road trips, slept in dorm rooms and had wine in each other’s kitchens. We have so many beautiful memories. Many of the things I know about the world I learned alongside these girls, and they’re still the first ladies I go to for book recommendations, new recipes, boy advice and spiritual guidance. I am blessed beyond belief to share these ladies in my life.
I’m so proud of where our little group of friends is at twenty-five. I can’t wait to see who we become in the next five years. We’ll be sharing so many new beginnings: weddings, babies, graduations, first jobs, new jobs, moves, new houses, new families. And I’m sure the next five years will bring us sad moments too. We’ll have our hearts broken, we’ll experience sickness and maybe death. There will be tears to dry, feelings to mend, cups of tea to brew and late night phone conversations. But I know we’ll be there for each other in a bigger and better way than we ever have before. If the past ten years have taught me anything it’s the reliability and the steadfastness of these ladies. No matter if it’s been five months, five days or five minutes, any one of my girlfriends will have my back, my hand and my heart without a question. I am so blessed.
To my beautiful friends,
Lia
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