The letter is addressed to the person who gave her the assignment, however, I knew it was highly unlikely that they would actually read it because, knowing who gave her the assignment, it was more for Kayla's benefit than the other person's.
I have chosen to share that letter here because I want everyone to know what it is that makes me like Kayla. Why it is that she is my best friend. Plus, I am very proud of this literary piece of work. ;-)
If you are fortunate enough to have a best friend, whether it's someone you've known since childhood, a family member, or a friend who has recently come into your life, I would encourage you to let him or her know just how much they mean to you, how special they are to you. They deserve to know, and you deserve to tell them.
Here it is, my short-essay-masquerading-as-a-letter about my best friend, Kayla.
Enjoy.
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September 29, 2016
Dear Sir or
Madam,
My
name is Stephanie. I am Kayla’s best
friend, and she is mine. It was brought
to my attention yesterday via text message that you have assigned Kayla with
the task of discovering why it is that I like her. Understanding the value of such an
assignment, and always on the lookout for an opportunity to brag about my
amazing best friend, I was happy to offer my complete cooperation in this
matter.
“Do
you need it in writing? Is a blood
signature required?” I asked, to which she promptly responded with, “You can
write it if you want to. And yes, a
blood signature is required.”
Never
being one to shy away from the chance to put my love of writing to work, I
spent the remainder of my day thinking about the assignment, and today, I have
pieced together what I hope to be an adequate response to the question at hand.
So,
why do I like Kayla? To be honest, I
have never really thought about the “why” of our friendship. We met six years ago in college. It was Kayla’s first semester as a freshman,
and it was my fourth semester living away from home, enjoying the life of a
college student. She was very quiet that
first Saturday when she moved in. I
remember sitting in my room getting settled and she came to ask me what time
church was. That was the first, and only
interaction we had that day I think. We
may have done something else with one of our other roommates. I don’t really remember.
The
next day we walked to church together.
I, being the person that I am, happily chatted away at her, asking
several questions about her likes, her major, all of the things you ask a brand
new roommate. Her answers weren’t too
detailed, never giving more information than was absolutely necessary. It was like a cat person that walked into a
room with a happy, energetic, lovable chocolate lab puppy (three guesses which
of us was the puppy, and the first two don’t count). Eventually we fell into a bit of an awkward
silence and, honestly, I thought maybe she didn’t like me, that maybe I had
annoyed her with my insistent chattering and friendly interrogation. But, in spite of our awkward beginnings, it
only took me a week to break through her shell, and after that there was no
turning back.
Kayla
is hilarious. I cannot begin to list all
of the funny things she has said or done, there are so many. She has made me laugh to the point of stomach
aches and near tears, something that didn’t happen all that often until we
met. Seriously, I have probably had just
as many gut busting laughing fits in the six years we’ve known each other as I
did in the twenty-one years before I met her, maybe even more. We laugh about all kinds of things, and
sometimes we laugh about absolutely nothing.
Kayla
is so smart. She is an excellent problem
solver, and can see things that other people would totally miss. She knows a lot about many things, and some
about even more things. Just enough to
make her dangerous. ;-)
We
both love superheroes, particularly those of the Marvel variety, and we both
have a love for Supernatural, Sherlock, Merlin, Firefly, Ouran High School Host
Club, and many other wonderful fandoms. We can sit down and watch an action movie,
chick flick, Disney film, spiritually uplifting, or an anime and neither one of
us will feel like we had to “settle” for something we didn’t really want to
watch anyway.
We’ve
had many adventures together. Late night
Denny’s runs, day trips to visit with friends, Disneyland twice (which was a
total blast, by the way), and this year we even braved our own campout
experience. But, to be honest, every
moment can be an adventure with Kayla.
If
the story of how our friendship began isn’t enough of an inclination, I am a
talker. That’s not to say that
conversations between Kayla and I are mostly one-sided. Often times she steers and dominates the
conversation. But I do like to talk,
about any and everything almost. In
spite of my carrying on about things, even things that are completely random
and have absolutely zero relevancy to either of our lives, she still
listens. She listens to me go on about a
new show that I watched, or a book that I read that is just killing me, even if
it’s not really something that she is all that interested in. I can tell her my story ideas and get
constructive criticism from her about them.
I can talk to her about my thoughts and feelings regarding issues that
are important to me, whether or not they have value to her, and she
listens. I could go on and on about guys
that I liked, and she would listen patiently, to the good and the bad, and
never once criticized me for my choice in guys, nor would she try to discourage
me from pursuing a guy that I really liked.
She
puts up with my shenanigans. Yeah, no
real need to elaborate I think. J
She
gets along with my family, which is a big deal considering they are a HUGE part
of my life, and has even become a welcomed addition to it. At those times when my family is just driving
me crazy, she is there to listen to my thoughts and feelings, and gives me the
support I need to get over it.
There
have been a lot of things in my life that weren’t easy to deal with. Some of them, like losing my mom, happened
before Kayla and I ever met, and they came with some baggage, especially losing
my mom. Kayla never questioned it, never
told me to just “get over it” or to “move on” or whatever. She accepted me and all the baggage that came
with me, and even offered to carry a bag or two if needed.
These
are the things I like about Kayla, the things that have shaped my friendship
with her. But, what’s the why?
What is it that makes these things about her so appealing and likeable
to me? Looking back over it, evaluating
and processing it all in my mind, I figured it out.
She
makes me happy.
I
can be myself with her and she’ll never leave me for it.
I
can be my “20 kinds of crazy” and most of the time she’ll join in, and for
those times when I’m just being crazy on my own, she sticks around, never
judging or criticizing the things that make me, me.
She
makes me feel important in the world, that my existence matters. In the past there were times when I wanted to
just run away, to leave everything behind me and not look back. She helps me want to stay.
She
isn’t just my friend, she’s a sister, a kindred spirit that I have been lucky
enough to not only cross paths with, but to stick with and to live life
with. She is the Watson to my Sherlock,
the Dianna to my Anne, the Sam to my Frodo and the Merlin to my Arthur. And I thank God every day for the blessing of
having her in my life.
I
honestly can’t imagine my life without her.
Actually, I can, and it would be a much bleaker one. My world would be less without her. True story.
And
so, dear sir or madam, this is why I like Kayla. This is why she is, and always will be, my
absolute best friend. I would like to
thank you for giving her this assignment, because while it’s no secret that the
two of us are best friends, I don’t tell her enough just how much she means to
me, how valuable she is, and how critical she is to my happiness, to my
existence.
Thank
you.
Sincerely,
Stephanie
AKA Kayla’s Best Friend
P.S. Please forgive my choice to refrain from meeting
the requirement of a blood signature. It
really is quite unsanitary.
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Have a great day everyone!
