The Friday before our February break, I was reclining on my couch eagerly awaiting the next week off from school, when I received a notification from Instagram. I expected it to be one of my friends sending me a funny post or video, but I was shocked to see it was one of my elementary school friends named Iris. Having moved away from that area in fifth grade, I fell out of touch with her.
She was asking if I wanted to hang out over break. Eagerly, I responded with a prompt yes and we started to plan our meetup, ultimately landing on froyo at Tutti Frutti.
In the past, it had never been a priority for me to hangout with an old friend like this. Meeting up with her, however, I regretted that; I got the chance to reminisce about my childhood and take a moment to rediscover the memories we had made together.
Leading up to the rendez-vous I was nervous that things might be awkward between us, considering that I hadn’t seen her in half a decade and had no idea who she’d grown up to be. In my mind, she was still the adorable little girl who had always been kind despite some rough times for me in elementary school, and I truthfully didn’t know what to expect. I anticipated moments of awkward silence, so I rehearsed conversation topics in my head so that I could make the best use of our time together and learn as much about her as possible. But, when I got there, our time together unfolded nothing like I expected.
When Iris walked through the door, we both squealed in excitement and I gave her a huge hug, and although I barely knew this new, older version of her, I felt so much safety and comfort in that hug. Cheesy as it seems, I felt like I was transported back to age 9 and while we were talking, for the first time in a while, I felt no weight or stress on my shoulders.
We talked for hours about our lives and although we both changed a lot, I still saw the same little girl in her. We filled each other in on all the latest information and it was satisfying knowing that she had remained bright and bubbly, making it so easy to keep conversing. I don’t really have the privilege of seeing those people from my past every day.
The unfortunate thing about moving is that although I’ve been blessed to find good friends here, I realize that if I allow friendships to fade, I won’t ever have the connections that those who stay put have with each other. As close as my current friends and I are to each other, I’m learning the importance of holding on to the ties I do have with those in my past as tight as I can.
When I was a young kid I spent forever wishing I could grow up and have more freedom and responsibility. I used to idolize high-schoolers because they were so independent and cool. Now that I am in high school, I want nothing more than to have one more day of carefree youth where I don’t have to worry about college, or my future, or my grades, or about navigating friendships and relationships. When I was talking with my friend, it felt like all of those worries evaporated, even if only for a few hours.
There is so much value in taking time to reconnect with and get in touch with people you haven’t contacted for a while. Whether it’s an old friend, an old teacher, or even someone you still are friends with, there’s incredible reward in taking a minute to think back to your fondest memories. I’m so grateful for the time I got to spend with my childhood friend and I can’t wait to get together again.
