I remember it so clearly. We were high schoolers with nothing better to do than crash a friend’s house on a Friday night. He wasn’t even that close of our friend at the time, but that didn’t stop us from driving up to his house and going inside. His mom instantly made us a batch of cookies, and from that point on we were never leaving.
High school. We’ve been friends since high school. We navigated uncomfortable high school relationships together. We helped each other pick the least embarrassing senior portraits. We stood by each other through the stress of applying to, not getting accepted to, and eventually choosing a college. Then we graduated high school.
And then there was college. We were spread out across the country, yet no matter what we could come back home- to our weekend home- and weekend mom would have cookies ready for us. At one point it was even an ice cream cake- Jolan might have cried that day. College might have split us up, but you could guarantee we would find a way to get back together again. Even if it was just for one more pizza night. And sure enough, a few years later we all graduated college.
Now we’re ‘adults’ working full time jobs, sitting at desks, comparing the best credit card APRs. Adrian has a fancy job title, Robin has dogs in her office, and Vivian gets the best work discounts. Cheryl and Jolan have the best vlogs and are one day going to take over the YouTube world. Then there’s me. I moved to Hawaii and started a life there.
I could throw myself a pity party. I could wallow in the sadness of everything I’m missing out on… most recently being missing out on a trip to Japan. The photos were great. They ate lots of amazing food! They even went to Tokyo Disneysea! Goodness gracious the envy is unreal. But deep down I feel nothing but excitement for them. Because when they are happy, I’m happy.
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So, I FaceTimed Adrian, and he surprisingly answered. When his face came on the screen I smiled from ear to ear. Then there was Robin and Vivian and Alex. My people. I get so excited to see my people. I wish I got to see them more often and go on more adventures and be more part of their lives. But for today I got to see their faces, hear their voice, and watch them eat a fried mochi thing. I’ll take what I can get, but I’ll also keep fighting for more. Because they are my people, and I want more time with my people.