That summer I learned I found my best friend.

It was a summer filled with endless Harry Potter marathons

And large Imo’s pizza dripping in grease and blanketed with pepperoni.

From trying as many sugary flavors at Sno Biz as possible

To building the Taj Mahal of blanket forts, towering tall with piles of pillows.

That summer we learned how to be little kids again.

Days were crammed with laughing until our abs were as hard as steel

And singing One Direction horribly off key during car rides with the windows down.

That summer we learned how to be ourselves without fear.

We spent countless hours blankly staring at laptop cases at Best Buy

And meandering around over-sized furniture shops without any reason at all.

That summer we learned how to make adventures out of the mundane. 

From excitedly pointing and squealing “DOG!” every time we saw a pup

To getting so hyped you would think our arbitrary trip to Target was a Caribbean Cruise,

That summer we learned how to find the joy in little things.

Days were jam-packed with childish pillow fights that always left one of us pillowless and terrified

And wrestling matches that I just couldn’t win on the sandy beaches of the murky river.

That summer we learned how to keep things interesting.

We spent days on end lying around watching our favorite episodes of The Office

And countless hours as each other’s shotgun sidekick: distributing snacks and failing to read the geps.

That summer we learned how to enjoy each other’s company.

From tears gushing from my eyes while murmuring, “I’m not ready for you to leave”

To the hardest goodbye we ever had say.

That summer we learned how much we loved each other.

It was a summer filled with late, late nights

And memories I’ll never forget.

That summer I learned I found my best friend.