Free Press Seniors Bid High School a Fond Farewell

If you are looking for something funny and entertaining to read, just stop now. I am no Nash Riggins–in fact, I am far from it.

So rather than think of a creative or witty topic for my senior column, I decided to just take the time to thank a few of the people who have done so much for me the past three years; not by saying specific names, but rather just sharing exactly the amount of gratitude I have for my closest friends, especially as we move on to college and the next chapter of our lives.

On a day-to-day basis, my friends often know me better than I know myself. They are not afraid to tell me when I am wrong and making a mistake. Through my mom’s cancer sophomore year, an ACL injury last year, deaths, break-ups and all, there has never once been a time where my friends were not there for me when I needed them. They are extremely supportive and show an unconditional love. Are you wondering names? They are the ones screaming from the bleachers at every home softball game.

Because “you become who you hang out with,” I have been advised during my life to surround myself around positive, intelligent people. Carefully choosing who I am friends with has made the biggest difference with who I am today. In a sense, I have become my friends. Yet along the way, with their support, I have been able to discover the type of person I truly want to be.

As an identical twin, I have someone who, from the outside, literally looks like the same person as me. I do not know how many times a day people in the hallway say “hi” to me without knowing if I am my twin sister or me …but that is a whole other topic in itself. The point is, my very best friends know my twin for who she is, and me for who I am–two completely different people. Being among friends is one of the few occasions where my twin and I are not always associated together.

Throughout high school, we have been through so much together. My best friends know me individually and love me for me. They feel my joy and pain in every moment, and always offer a shoulder to cry on and a hand to hold. I am confident that in college, though we are going separate ways, our bond will not break apart.

If you are one of my best friends and reading this right now, please know that I would die one million times over for you. The love I have, I know for sure, is strong enough to last a lifetime.