Mis Amigas

I hugged my friend Esther for a good four minutes tonight. Hard. She goes to school at Williams College in Massachusetts and I won't get to see her until next June or July 2010. That will be almost a year from now. Sure, we've lived on opposite coasts for the past three years during school, but I've always seen her, and other out-of-state friends, during breaks.

What dawned on me tonight as I said bye to Esther after a night of future-talk with her and my friend Kimmy was not really the daunting reality that I will be gone from home longer than I've ever been when I leave for Thailand in October -- no, the prospect of such an adventure excites and fuels me -- but rather, how utterly grateful I am for my girl friends. Mis amigas.

Our group of girl friends is a rarity. Most females engage in catty behavior when gathered en masse (cue sorority stories), but, for the most part, not us. Some of us have known each other since our middle school years, or the height of our awkwardness; others joined the pack in high school, where our bonds strengthened, rather than cracked (a miracle!). I attribute, without an inkling of hesitation, many of my positive qualities to these girls, all of whom were my peer role models and motivational figures, though I or we didn't know it at the time. Go-getters and achievers; humble and down-to-earth; silly and fun; adventurous; spontaneous; athletic and artsy: I was surrounded by the best. The cream of the crop. Beautiful girls in their own rights who influenced me in positive ways.

Then, college. Nay did we drift, despite the miles or exams or other friends that separated us. We all made new companions and befriended college buddies who stayed up and studied til the crack of dawn with us in our respective, deserted libraries, but always, always a phone call, a text, a Facebook message, an email from at least one friend-from-home a day to remind us all that we still were thinking of each other. Like a connect-the-dots figure, we've all grown into our own entities with our friends as the lines and dots to support us.

It's only fitting that my best friends have emerged from my home town. They hold the most foundational place in my heart and know the real me. I adore my college friends and know I'll make many more in the future, but never will they replace these girls. Bring on Med School, Dental School, Law School, Grad School, career changes and out-of-state or even out-of-country moves. Years have already passed and I expect many more to, as well. But if we're going at this rate, we'll never drift. We're like family. They're my sisters. And I am so, so grateful for them.

(Plus they know too much about me and I can't let them blackmail me in the future. Jokes.)
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