Throughout my entire life, I’ve met and become friends with countless people. Whether they’re someone who happened to live near me, someone I’ve met through school, or by any other means, they surely made an impact in my life. Friends that I once had who I haven’t contacted in years helped make me the person I am today, and every social group I’ve been through has changed me as a person. The importance of having good friends is something I believe is incredibly important, and without the friends I’ve gone through, have, or could’ve had, I wouldn’t be anything like who I am now.

I still remember a birthday party I had years ago at a bowling alley; I’ve had the bowling pin that everyone signed in my closet for years. Looking back at it and seeing the names and seeing people I haven’t in years is somewhat saddening, but I can recall all of the great times I had with these people. Before I switched schools in second grade, I spent many hours running around with these friends at recess and hanging out at each other’s houses. I grew more distant with them after switching schools, but these people influenced me greatly in my younger years.

Recently, however, I was able to meet up with one of those friends. At the first Model UN conference of the year, I happily ran into my best friend from my early childhood. Seeing a friend I hadn’t in such a long time was a very pleasant surprise, and it was completely unexpected. This situation really made me realize how grateful I was to have had these friends and the ones I have now, and that I should cherish all of the time I’m able to spend with them. If I never speak to them again after high school or college, I want to be able to look back and remember all of the good times we had together.

Meeting new people and making new friends will pretty much be a constant throughout life, and I’m incredibly thankful for the ability to be able to go out and do exactly that. I’d like to talk with the friends I had oh-so-long-ago at least one more time, and I’m going to try to do exactly that. I’m most definitely going to cherish the time I spend with my friends, because once we go our separate ways in life, these memories are what I’ll have left over.