5

this is the original 5.
have you met them, yet?
if it wasn't for them, you wouldn't be reading my blog. because if it wasn't for them, i'd be a snob. kinda rhymed, eh?

we were brought together from day one by our mutual past (you see, we all came from one junior high which only supplied about 30 people to our new high school--literally everyone else was new and all we had was each other. lucky us, though) and the it-had-to-be-controlled-by-the-man-upstairs chance that we shared the same english class.

not always together,
but never apart.
the other 4 are the foundation of my high school experience, my laughter, and my whole and powerful self.

if it wasn't for a yellow notebook or a psychology class,
the girl who asked to have one of my chips, who's also the girl who wrote me confetti-filled notes,
stargazing & the master & another day, another heartbreak,
moos, the whipped cream game, a listening ear,
or quoted youtube videos and emotional stability
i wouldn't be me,
and they wouldn't be them.

from them i learned patience, balance, laughter, lightheartedness, confidence, intelligence, faith, and how to be myself.

it's an ode to the best friends who have a place in the core of my heart
and i know they'll never leave
because we've gone three years with ups and downs,
but we still all sat on my couch and reminisced about knapkins and lone wolves and baby choir teachers and the old woman who swallowed a...
we laughed. a lot.
i looked around the room today. it's not often that we are all together at once. it was beautiful and it was home and i never wanted it to end.

no matter how much time stretches out between us the distances of our hearts will never change.

we were all meant to have each other from the very beginning, we know that for sure. from just us 5 in our first semester of high school, we've all branched out to meet countless other friends who mean just every bit as much to us as each other. we're not only the 5 anymore, and we're about to bring in even more new best friends. but here's to the beginning. i couldn't have done it without you.

i love you.

and i wish to each and every one of you just one friend as good as these ones. pay attention to the people god puts in your pathway. they are there for a reason. you never know when the weird girl eating a sandwich at the end of your table will end up being your best friend.

--hannah

whitney
shelbie
ari