My cell phone blares out Chris Brown's Next2You and a smile creeps across my face. Even without looking at the screen I know it's my best friend.

We've been friends since we could talk. He and I tromped through our yards imagining our explorations and make believe battles. We spent our weekends digging for worms and kicking around a soccer ball. We were like brother and sister, fighting and arguing every chance we got, but inseparable all the same. Until society forced us apart.

The world today has never accepted differences with open arms. I grew up surrounded by “popular” girls. The movies, television shows, and peer pressure gave me the urge to be with them. Have slumber parties and paint nails, not go frog catching. He went his own way, hanging out with a secluded couple of friends, or as my “friends” would call them, dorks.

By the time we entered junior high, we ignored each other. I let all of our relationship slip down the drain. My girl friends teasing him slowly became my friends and me teasing him. We'd gone from the best of buddies to the worst of enemies.

So this past year when he contacted me through text message, I was stunned. It wasn't long till we were rebuilding our bond. I let him counsel me, I shared everything with him. Then I realized that he'd been there for me all along. I was the one who ditched him. He didn't pick a social life over his best friend. I deserted the one person I could count on for anything.

Now we talk 24/7. We bicker and call each other names. We share anything and everything. He supports me through my struggles and I listen to anything he needs to get off his chest.

If there's anything I've learned in my lifetime so far, it's that there's always that one person who always has your back, who can make you laugh when you feel like sobbing and breaking down. He's my rock, my sanity, and one of the best things that's ever happened to me. I'll never let him slip through my fingers again, he's my best friend for life.