I went to college in San Diego after graduating high school in Los Angeles. I was excited to leave the place I did the majority of my growing up, to venture out into the “real” world, which for me meant 150 miles from my home town.

I believe it was the day after I moved into the co-ed dormitory that I met a girl who lived across the hall from me. She told me I was going to love the girl who was going to be her roommate, a friend of hers from high school and someone she had known for years. She was absolutely positive that we would hit it off.  I thought to myself, well, that would be cool because I know absolutely no one here, but I didn’t really put too much weight into what she said since after all, she had only known me for twenty-four hours, if that.

Then, a couple days later, her roommate moved in and I was introduced to her. And surprisingly, we took to each other nicely. I believe there was a fire alarm (a common occurence at our dorm) and we ended up sitting outside, smoking cigarettes and getting to know each other. And you know, we really did hit it off. We just went together like peanut butter and jelly, and from then on, we have been close friends. That was fourteen years ago…

Tonight, we hung out, which is always a pleasure for me, and as we walked her dog, she said she had to get her mail. We stopped at her car and I made a joke about her getting her mail at her car but she said no, I have something for you. And then, she handed me a book. It was, in essence, a book that was soooooo me. And only someone who knew me reallllllly well would know that I would absolutely love this book.

And at that moment, I thought to myself, I am so fortunate to have this person in my life, not because she got me a gift but because she is someone who has taken the time to truly know me. I love her and cherish her and her friendship means quite a lot to me. Though we live in different cities and don’t get to see each other all that often, the hours I spend with her go by like minutes and she will forever be someone I will be there for no matter what.

As we go through life and meet people who come and go, the type of person I speak of here is rare. Cherish them. They are few and far between.