My Best Friend (LJ Idol)
Ooo. you make me live
whatever this world can give to me
It's you, you're all I see
Ooo, you make me live now honey
Ooo, you make me live
You're the best friend
that I ever had
I've been with you such a long time
You're my sunshine
And I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
You're my best friend
Ooo, you make me live
I've been wandering round
But I still come back to you
In rain or shine
You've stood by me girl
I'm happy, happy at home
You're my best friend.
You're the first one
When things turn out bad
You know I'll never be lonely
You're my only one
And I love
The things that you do
You're my best friend
Ooo, you make me live.
I'm happy, happy at home
You're my best friend
You're my best friend
Ooo, you make me live
You, you're my best friend.
Queen - You're My Best Friend
I am fortunate that I don't have just ONE best friend. I have best friends from the most important phases of my life, and I am still in touch with all of them today.
Kristine
My oldest and dearest friend. I was 4; she was 2. We met in Montessori school, literally in the sandbox. She called me Jen-Jen; I called her Kris-Kris. I still do, in fact. We were in school together until I was in 5th grade and went off to public middle school. She and I stayed in touch through letters, even though we lived in the same city for a while, and she still has those letters to this day. She's grown into a beautiful, vivacious woman and I am proud to be her friend.
Nicole
Nicole and I met when I was 9 and she was 11. We bowled on the same team together in the kids' league. Her mom and my dad were good friends, and my dad even asked her out once. (We still wonder to this day what would have happened if they'd hit it off.) We lost touch for a while when we were in high school, but we came back together when I was about 16... and we've been friends ever since. Her daughters are now 15 and 13; I remember when they were born. They call me "Auntie". Nicole still sends me their school photos and her oldest daughter and I are friends on MySpace, of all things. Every year, we used to get a portrait together. While we haven't seen each other since December 2004, we are still in touch.
Carole
Even though we were not friends for a very long time, I have to mention Carole because I suspect we would still be friends today. Unfortunately, she was taken from us on November 4, 1991 after a seizure in class led to her being rushed to the hospital. It turned out she had encenphalitis (an infection of the brain) that had been prolonged by taking prednisone (a steroid) for another illness. When she stopped taking the prednisone, the infection spread and took her life. She was an amazing person, and I bet she would be a great woman today. I am still in touch with her mother, and she lives on through our weekly e-mails.
Kelly
Ahh, my Kelly Belly. My best friend in high school, and one of the kindest, dearest, most loving people I've ever known. Her mother is a deacon in the Episcopal Church and is also one of the greatest people I know. Kelly and I were thick as thieves during those awkward teenage years when everything seems to go wrong all at once; we had bad boyfriends together, we got drunk together, we tried crazy things together, we were inseparable. We are still friends today, though we don't see each other that often (we live on opposite coasts).
Jess, aka peridoxical
Jess and I are unique friends because while we don't have a ton in common, the things we do have in common (books, journalism) bind us together. We met at journalism school when we were both on active duty in 2000. We talk to each other on Gmail Chat every single day at work. Our situations are very similar at home and at work, and we are great sounding boards for each other. We make a point to visit each other as often as we can, and we alternate visiting each other. In fact, she just spent last weekend with me, and I will be visiting her as soon as I possibly can. Jess is the kind of friend who is there for you no matter what - and I am proud to be one of her many friends that all share the same name. :)
Becky
Becky and I met by chance in 2001 through a mutual friend whom I had taken a college course with. We hit it off immediately, and had that kind of easy friendship where it doesn't matter what you're doing, you always have fun. When I lived in Maryland, she was the one who took me in and let me stay with her when I was getting ready to move and had nowhere else to sleep. She and her now-husband moved to Florida when I lived there and would regularly host fondue and games nights at their house, and we would do the same in return. We watched the Grammys together, the Super Bowl (for the commercials of course), and play the Disney version of "Scene It?" like our lives depend on it. She is my rock.
Theresa
Theresa is the kind of friend everyone hopes to find - the one who goes through the fire with you, who sees you at your absolute worst, and is still with you on the other side. Theresa and I were thrown together by chance, and stayed together as friends by choice. We were roommates in a college prep program we had to attend as part of pre-commissioning, and we lived together in a 10' x 14' room for 5 months. We had no privacy, no space of our own, no room to maneuver, and we forged a bond deeper than any I have with my other friends. She saw me when I had lost my mind in school and went into crazy-flirtatious-hoe bag mode, she was a shoulder to cry on when I was jilted, and I helped her get through classes (she has a learning disability and school was a struggle for her) and through daily life because she wasn't very organized and I'm a "must always know what's happening" freak. She came to my college graduation and was one of my "first salutes" when I got my commission. While she lives in Hawaii and I live in New York, and I am no longer in the military, she is carrying on our shared dream and is making a name for herself as an outstanding public affairs officer. I know she will do great things.
There are many other wonderful people I am proud to call my friends, but these women stand out above the rest. They are the ones I trust with my innermost secrets and with my life. They are the sisters I never had, and the kind of friends I wish for everyone.
"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive,
and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."
- Anais Nin
This was written for therealljidol, Season 4. If you like what you read, give me your vote this week!