this past thursday was the sweet 16 of my best friend, so of course first of all - happy birthday to my biggest support and partner in crime.
i can’t think of something that i haven’t already told you in the past few years as we continued to get closer, but i hope you know that you have so many people that love and adore you and that you inspire every day. you have a smile on your face and radiate positivity, making all the more people want to be your friend. but that’s not even what i admire most about you - you care about everyone and everything, but you don’t let everyone and everything control how you act. so as i write this article, i’m spending time thinking about all the beautiful memories we made with each other from crying on facetime to not being able to breathe because of all the laughter.
we surprised her by renting a limo and going to the ferris wheel in downtown before going to dinner. the whole way there, we were blasting music and singing our hearts out - as if there was no tomorrow. when we got to the ride, we told every person that was walking past us that it was her birthday, getting them to wish her. by the end of the night, everyone’s eyes were drooping and the energy levels were lower than ever. all the signs point to only one thing - we partied hard.
now, why am i telling you all this? because every day is a new experience. every day is a new opportunity to be embarrassed that your friends are screaming at everyone that it’s your birthday. we were never going to see those people again anyway. that’s why it’s so important that we do what we fear, makes us embarrassed, happy, sad, angry, etc.
the next day i woke up and stumbled when i tried to walk. i was so tired and couldn’t imagine being more tired in my entire life. these are all good things, though. if we’re truly this tired, that means we had so much fun that we didn’t let anything or anyone stop us. everything that we have ever wanted to do if we continue to wait, who knows if it’s ever going to happen?
so, do what you want. whether that be changing the world or changing your world, every decision we make pushes us in a different direction. we’re like kites in the air, but we’re also the person holding the string. what we do with the string always comes back to where the kites go.
have fun. do what you need to be the best you that you can be. and don’t ever forget that no matter what you do, you will always be loved, whether that be by yourself, your loved ones, or that which makes you happy. and to my best friend, here’s to your next 365 day journey - i love you!