Another letter
Dear 16-year-old me,
The very next question you have is: "What happens to my friends?" I know it is.
Friends come and go, but for the most part, yours stay the same. You're still best friends with Zach, Haleigh, Becca, and Emilee, and you've also made two new good friends named Theresa and Brandi.
Zach and Haleigh
They start dating sometime in your senior year, I think, in December. It's adorable, but weird. They don't seem to fit together very well, but they're still dating 5 years later. Zach shares many of your views, and is interested in discussing them. He's kind of a jerk sometimes, but only because he likes to be blunt. Haleigh went to a school up north for a while, but transferred back to ISU down here. She still doesn't have her license, even though she's 22. Sometimes you think she's just using Zach for rides and stuff, but she is super serious about school. She is always there to talk about things when you need to.
Becca
...Becca... She has had a rough couple years. I think you already know about Joe and Stephanie... Well, that ruined her. She keeps finding guys that she likes, but she can't ever be true to them. She is conflicted and confused when it comes to boys. She's already been engaged maybe three times, once to a carney from South Africa. That didn't end well. It got really bad when she went away to college in Vincennes, but she's realized she has a problem and is working to fix it. She's always there for you too, and you feel good being able to talk to her about things you can't talk about with other friends.
Emilee
She and Joe are starting to get serious, so you don't see much of her nowadays. But that doesn't mean she's any less of a friend. You help each other out when able. You should probably invite her for coffee sometime... Anyway, you are roommates freshman year. It is awesome for a while, but she can't always deal with your messy lifestyle. You have a minor fight, but you work it out after some time apart.
Like I said, friends come and go. Here are the ones who came, and the ones who left.
Tree(Theresa) and Brandi
A college friend introduces you to them, and you quickly become friends. Tree is one of the few people who has never given you bad advice. She is fun and loyal and always has your back. Brandi is her counterpart. They are a lesbian couple, and you love them dearly. Brandi is wise for her age, with life experience she is quick to share with you. Some of her views are opposite yours, but it only makes for good discussion.
Shawna
You meet her freshman year and quickly become friends. She's a music major too, and you have some classes together. She seems genuinely interested in your well being. You have a huge fight sophomore year because she accuses you of not delivering a gift to her ex because you "didn't like him." What happened is that she didn't want to see him in person and when you were unable to deliver it because he left too soon, she assumed you had thrown it away. You make your peace, but over a year later the issue resurfaces, among others, and your friendship is over for good.
Amanda
You don't really know what happened here. You'd been oblivious to how she's treated you all these years, and you're tired of being held down all the time. Someone along the way told her that she's half a person and can't exist without a boyfriend, and you've been living to that same example. She's still like that, to this day. Each new boy is her "one true love and they're gonna get married and have five kids and their names are gonna be blah blah blah..." And she doesn't see the problem with it. You try to be friends with her again because you missed it, and she was pretty cool for a while, but she still doesn't respect anyone, including herself.
Peyton
You never saw this one coming. You were best friends all through high school, and ever better friends in college. He flunked out though, twice. Because of that, he had to move to Ohio with his parents (they sold their house in Terre Haute and moved out there) for almost a year. You didn't find out about that until your boss called you on New Year's and told you that Peyton had moved to Ohio and wasn't coming back. He came back and tried going back to school, but flunked out again because of his boyfriend at the time. Your boss decided that he deserved a promotion more than you and started his manager training at Long John's, and so you left. It wasn't because of the promotion that you stopped being friends, it was because he doesn't care about anything that happens to him. He just had to move away again because his parents divorced. Vancouver, wherever that is. Didn't even tie up loose threads. His boyfriend calls him: "Hey I'm coming over to your apartment" and his response is: "Sorry, I live with my dad now." I'm still so mad about this that I can't stand it. But that's why you need a good few friends, and not just one or two. Enjoy Peyton while he's there for you; he won't be much longer.
Regards,
Carey, 22
The very next question you have is: "What happens to my friends?" I know it is.
Friends come and go, but for the most part, yours stay the same. You're still best friends with Zach, Haleigh, Becca, and Emilee, and you've also made two new good friends named Theresa and Brandi.
Zach and Haleigh
They start dating sometime in your senior year, I think, in December. It's adorable, but weird. They don't seem to fit together very well, but they're still dating 5 years later. Zach shares many of your views, and is interested in discussing them. He's kind of a jerk sometimes, but only because he likes to be blunt. Haleigh went to a school up north for a while, but transferred back to ISU down here. She still doesn't have her license, even though she's 22. Sometimes you think she's just using Zach for rides and stuff, but she is super serious about school. She is always there to talk about things when you need to.
Becca
...Becca... She has had a rough couple years. I think you already know about Joe and Stephanie... Well, that ruined her. She keeps finding guys that she likes, but she can't ever be true to them. She is conflicted and confused when it comes to boys. She's already been engaged maybe three times, once to a carney from South Africa. That didn't end well. It got really bad when she went away to college in Vincennes, but she's realized she has a problem and is working to fix it. She's always there for you too, and you feel good being able to talk to her about things you can't talk about with other friends.
Emilee
She and Joe are starting to get serious, so you don't see much of her nowadays. But that doesn't mean she's any less of a friend. You help each other out when able. You should probably invite her for coffee sometime... Anyway, you are roommates freshman year. It is awesome for a while, but she can't always deal with your messy lifestyle. You have a minor fight, but you work it out after some time apart.
Like I said, friends come and go. Here are the ones who came, and the ones who left.
Tree(Theresa) and Brandi
A college friend introduces you to them, and you quickly become friends. Tree is one of the few people who has never given you bad advice. She is fun and loyal and always has your back. Brandi is her counterpart. They are a lesbian couple, and you love them dearly. Brandi is wise for her age, with life experience she is quick to share with you. Some of her views are opposite yours, but it only makes for good discussion.
Shawna
You meet her freshman year and quickly become friends. She's a music major too, and you have some classes together. She seems genuinely interested in your well being. You have a huge fight sophomore year because she accuses you of not delivering a gift to her ex because you "didn't like him." What happened is that she didn't want to see him in person and when you were unable to deliver it because he left too soon, she assumed you had thrown it away. You make your peace, but over a year later the issue resurfaces, among others, and your friendship is over for good.
Amanda
You don't really know what happened here. You'd been oblivious to how she's treated you all these years, and you're tired of being held down all the time. Someone along the way told her that she's half a person and can't exist without a boyfriend, and you've been living to that same example. She's still like that, to this day. Each new boy is her "one true love and they're gonna get married and have five kids and their names are gonna be blah blah blah..." And she doesn't see the problem with it. You try to be friends with her again because you missed it, and she was pretty cool for a while, but she still doesn't respect anyone, including herself.
Peyton
You never saw this one coming. You were best friends all through high school, and ever better friends in college. He flunked out though, twice. Because of that, he had to move to Ohio with his parents (they sold their house in Terre Haute and moved out there) for almost a year. You didn't find out about that until your boss called you on New Year's and told you that Peyton had moved to Ohio and wasn't coming back. He came back and tried going back to school, but flunked out again because of his boyfriend at the time. Your boss decided that he deserved a promotion more than you and started his manager training at Long John's, and so you left. It wasn't because of the promotion that you stopped being friends, it was because he doesn't care about anything that happens to him. He just had to move away again because his parents divorced. Vancouver, wherever that is. Didn't even tie up loose threads. His boyfriend calls him: "Hey I'm coming over to your apartment" and his response is: "Sorry, I live with my dad now." I'm still so mad about this that I can't stand it. But that's why you need a good few friends, and not just one or two. Enjoy Peyton while he's there for you; he won't be much longer.
Regards,
Carey, 22