Who decided it was good?

On the first day of fourth grade I walked into Mrs. Glenda William's class with my pink and purple heart-patterned tights and likely my hideous blue Winnie-the-Pooh scrunchie around my wrist. Immediately a little girl, not much different from myself (but probably a tad more stylish), sought me out to know the name of the new girl. What was nothing more than a nosey gesture started the best friendship of my life.

Brittany was the first friend I ever stayed the night with. When these sleepovers began in fourth grade they were unstoppable. We played Monopoly and laughed at the silliest things for hours like "the thimble rolls". We played Guess Who and accidently asked "Who's bed have your boots been under?" because we had been listening to Shania too much. We made up a dance to If You Wanna Be My Lover, and thought we were ready to win the talent show we never entered. We took baths together even though we were probably much too old- thank you Maw Maw. We spent hours writing how we hearted our crush of the week (or year if you count Blake Corkill) on a huge green beach ball. We "prank called" every business we could think of asking them what time they closed- rebels right?

Elementary ended quickly. Middle school was full of much more change and adventure. It was a must that we sat on the "prep bench" and didn't eat lunch. It was during middle school that we somewhat started to gain our personality and realize that we were two pretty different people. It didn't stop us though. Even though we each made new friends, Brittany was still the person I would call before anyone if I needed a real friend. We sat on the "prep bench" many times singing Lean On Me and Rodeo laughing hysterically.

While our differences became more evident, High School proved to be the time I grew to know my best friend for who she was and love her so much for that. During this time I watched her face tragedy like many people our age never know, and I watched it define her. She went on to get a full paid scholarship to The University of Texas and show just how amazing she was.

Brittany graduated UT in 3 years and immediately worked to change the world in her way. Tomorrow she will leave for Washington, DC where she will begin graduate school at The George Washington University to get a masters degree in Public Health Policy. The little nosey girl from fourth grade will go hundreds of miles away and continue to change lives. The point of this blog is to tell you how she changed mine.

Because of my best friend, I am definitely a better person. I have learned what it means to have a friend that will be there no matter how much they like you at the moment. I have learned what it means to love someone completely different from you. I have a friend who is brutally honest no matter how much it hurts because she loves me too much to lie. I have seen first hand someone who fights for what she believes and acheives her dreams. I can look at her life and be immediately challenged in my own.

I have the BEST best friend in the world. The only thing good about this goodbye is the person I'm saying it to.