Childhood Friends

We met in Kindergarten, it was the first day of school and I was surprisingly outgoing on that particular day considering how much I kept to myself. My mom had dropped me off and as soon as I got out of the truck I went straight to the playground. It was early and class hadn’t started so all of the kids were playing outside. I looked around and I saw her, the girl who I had decided was going to be my friend. I walked right up to her and asked her if she wanted to be friends right off the bat. She answered yes and asked if I wanted to go down the slide so we ran up the playground to the top of the slide and told each other our names. We would go down the slide and wait for each other at the bottom and then run back up to the top. We played on the playground until we had to line up outside of the classrooms because class was going to start. It made me feel good knowing that I already had a friend so my first day of school went great. She was the first friend that I ever made at school and I even went home and told my parents about her.

We went through all of elementary school still being friends. Some years we were closer than others and I guess it just depended on whether we had the same teacher. In the years that we didn’t have the same teacher, we wouldn’t see each other as much. It was actually funny because the teachers would get us confused. We were about the same height, both wore glasses, and had short, dark hair. Some teachers would call me by her name or they would call her by mine. Other teachers thought we were twins, sisters, cousins, any form of related that would explain why we looked alike. Sometimes I would just be walking around the school or doing anything and I would hear a teacher say her name a few times until I would finally turn around and realize that they were talking to me. So, I would have to explain that I was in fact, not her. Which is when they would start asking all the twin and sister questions. 

Once we finished elementary school, we also went to the same middle school. We hardly had any classes together for those two years and if we did, we usually just sat with our other friends but we still greeted each other with smiles. We grew apart but we never grew bitter or felt any negative feelings or emotions towards each other. I don’t ever remember having a fight with her. I’m sure we would get annoyed at certain things or at some point which is normal. But I don’t recall ever feeling like I didn’t want to be friends with her. I don’t know if it’s because we just got along or maybe we just understood each other.

We also went to the same high school. I guess this is what happens when you grow up in a small community even though I have lost touch with a lot of people I once considered friends because they went to different schools. High school pretty much went the same way that middle school did. In all four years, we probably only had a few classes together and we continued to sit with our other friends. Every time we would see each other on campus we would smile and if we weren’t too far from each other then we would hug. And in the class that I do remember having with her, I would already be sitting down and sometimes she would hug me from behind on the way to her seat. Our interactions were always very positive and they usually left me with my mood lifted even though we had grown apart. I don’t think my view of her ever changed. I still loved her even when we weren’t close because she was still my childhood friend and I only ever had good memories with her.

To this day, she’s one of the few friends that my dad remembers the name of which is saying something because he forgets my friends’ names all the time. We are both very smart and we always got a lot of awards in elementary school. My parents still remember that the presenter would say our names a lot of times. That’s probably what helped my dad remember her name now that I think about it but it also helped that we looked similar. And every once in a while, he would ask me how she was doing. She’s the only friend he’s ever asked that about.

Now we’re almost done with high school and we’re on our way to college. It turns out we’re going to the same college which is really surprising. Going to the same elementary school, middle school, and high school isn’t all that surprising because we live in a small town. But college was surprising because we’re not going to community college or even a college that is nearby. We are going to a college that is three hours away from where we live. And so our roots tangle once again. It made me very glad to know that we were going to the same place because it’s intimidating moving away from your family and being by yourself. Now, I know that I’m not alone and that we will have each other. Although we may not know each other as well as we used to. Mostly because we haven’t had many full conversations over the past six years. I still feel like I’ve known her forever and I guess that technically I have known her most of my life. I just know that if I ever need something or somebody then I can count on her. And if she ever needs something or somebody then she can count on me too.