I crossed over the threshold and our eyes met from across the room. I stood there frozen for a long time, almost as if I had never seen another human being before. The room was filled with faces, but I only had eyes on one.
This might sound like the narration behind a romance novel or how most people would envision meeting their soulmate but it’s actually the story of how I met my best friend.
It was my first day of Pre-K and I was incredibly excited. My mom lead me into the room and the teacher came over to greet me. I vaguely remember hearing her voice as she spoke to my mother, but I was so fixated on this girl in the crowd that I couldn’t tell you what she was saying. She could have been telling me that I was being sent to Mars to study an alien colony for all I knew. The only thing I took from that day was looking at my best friend’s face and thinking, “I don’t know why, but I like her.”
Before I knew it we were stuck together, Marissa and I. We still reminisce about that day twenty years later. Having just turned twenty-four a few days ago, this year will mark our two-decade anniversary. While Marissa has always had a bad memory, she has always had me to count on. Now I may not remember what you just told me your name was 10 seconds ago, but I can remember every little bit and piece of my life leading up to that 10 seconds . So it’s funny that we both can recall that day perfectly.
We have always been polar opposites. She has always been amazingly athletic while I have always been focused on theatre and the arts. She went to college for physical education and I went to study interior design. Every break when we were both home from school, we were inseparable. Hitting our favorite pizza joints, being mall rats, or roaming from bar to bar, we are always having a blast!
These twenty years have been filled with some truly crazy experiences. Being friends from such a young age takes things to a whole new level. Unlike the friends I made in later years, my friendship with Marissa truly grew just as we did. I remember seeing so many girls make and break friendships as if they were as disposable as the plastic friendship bracelets they wore. It was sad and strange to see the fading in and out of friendships while ours held strong. We almost questioned what it was that we could possibly be doing right. Something about us works. We make each other laugh to no end and I couldn’t imagine having never met her.
It sounds cheesy, but I cant help think that in that first glance we saw a lifelong friendship. If not, then it was just a really long awkward stare.
How’d you meet your best friend? Tell us in the comments!
(Feature image via @fridacashflow)
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