We met on the first day of fifth grade, both nervous for our first days at a new school. She had came from a different system, while I had been transferred from the elementary nearby that ended at fourth grade. Our teacher had came up to me and asked me if I could show her around, and being the helpful, curious girl I am, I replied to my teacher that I would love to. I looked her over briefly before walking to the corner of the room where she was standing by herself. She was a short girl, even compared to how small we were at that age. Her eyes were as big and blue as the ocean and her hair a white-yellow like the sandy shore. They looked like they were fighting an inner battle between her fear to talk to others and desire to know at least one person.  I always was jealous at that, my eyes an emerald green and hair a dark blonde. We were like land and sea, forces of nature to be reckoned with.

I barely remember what I said to her that first day, and I don’t think that she would know either. We soon became inseparable, tornadoes that no one could stop. We were crazy, fun, and had practically no fear when we were together. Teachers found that they couldn’t handle us in class together because we had too much fun. No one that was near us wanted to work either, they all were content with just watching us and our shenanigans.

I never was in another class with her that one of us weren’t switched out of, but that didn’t keep us apart or the things we did any less crazy. We decided the summer after fifth grade to start a “summer bucket list,” a list of things to do by the end of the summer. Every summer, a list was formed, and every summer, a list was left incomplete. I don’t think I ever realized just how influential these lists were to my life. We’ve climbed on roofs and jumped off, spied on strangers, said yes to everything for a day, and so much more. Some still affect me, like my decision to stay vegetarian after trying it out for a week, or my ability to do the splits after vowing to become more flexible.

Never would I ever have guessed we would find ourselves where we are when I first walked up to her and introduced myself. As easy as it was to get to know someone as amazing and crazy as her, I know it’ll be even harder to say goodbye when we go to colleges halfway across the country from each other. Somehow, though, I get the feeling that even if we don’t continue making the lists, we’ll always remember the fantastic things that arose from them.