Forever Friends

A best friend, the person who is always by your side. The person you think of the moment you hear that funny joke or when you're crying watching the end of Titanic. The person you call at 3 AM because you cannot stop thinking about the guy you met last night. They are the person who is always there for you when you need them.

When we look back and try to remember who our very first best friend is, we often think of a childhood playmate, and if you have siblings then I am sure it is them who you thought of first. Your earliest memories running around outside together, creating chaos in the playroom, hiding in the kitchen. It is easy to look back on those moments and smile. When you have siblings you automatically start off with a best friend. As young children you are thick as thieves. Perhaps you share your own form of communication. A secret code or glance that tells the other person exactly what you are thinking. The days are filled with laughter and some arguments over who's turn it is to play on the swing.

There may have been some tears when they pushed you off of the swing so they could have a turn, but it did not take long for the two of you to make up. As time marches on and you grow older the relationship between you and your siblings begin to change. It often begins to seem like you and your best friend have begun drifting apart. You no longer share the same interests or have the same friends. Arguments arise more often cause the rift to grow. The sounds of doors slamming echo through the halls that once held the laughter of innocent children. But when your best friend fails his English exam and is afraid to tell his parents he comes to you for advice. The doors open once more, and it is as if they had never been closed. When your first boyfriend breaks your heart, and your best friend is there with a stack of Disney movies and your favorite cookies everything seems right between you again.

The ups and downs are all a part of the ride in any relationship. When you care about someone so much you let them in. They become a part of you. The good and bad times are what keep the relationship alive. Without the bad there cannot be any good.

When you have both grown, gone off on your own, and started separate lives you will see that things have shifted once again. Now time feels short. There is never enough time to do all the things you once loved or to be with everyone you love. While you're on one side of the country, and they are on the other there are times that you long for the days of long ago. You will look back and miss the warm summer days in the back yard telling secrets. It will make you want to cry because you'll realize that your sibling will always be your best friend. You'll give them a call and reminisce about the time they dropped their ice pop down their shirt.

Afterwards you will know it will be okay because no matter how much time passes, how much changes, or how far apart you are, no one will ever know you the way your best friend does. No one will ever know how far you have come and how far you still want to go the way your best friend does. Your sibling will always be there for you and love you the way no one else ever could.