Stars.

Fiery balls of hydrogen and helium.

Objects light-years away.

Little twinkling things that help to brighten the sky when it is dark.

Things people forget about unless they think about looking up.

Despite all of this, one of my reasons for staying is stars.

When you live in a city, you can’t automatically look up on a clear day and see the universe beyond. You can’t see the beauty.

You have to go on an adventure every time you want to see the thing that will always be there for you.

But outside of the city, you know they will be there for you. You can look up and be comforted by that majestic sight.

The galaxy looking down on me wasn’t the only stars I was thinking about, though.

I was thinking about the stars in my life. The people who inspire me and who are my friends.

They guide me through anything I am going through.

They support me no matter what I do, even if it makes my decisions really hard, or even if I don’t necessarily want them to help.

But they help me decide even if they don’t realize it. They tell me random things; they help me see what I need at the moment. They make everything clearer and more fun.

And they end up going against what I want for the better. They occasionally don’t care for the better.

Stars allow me to escape the world around me. They allow me to sit and do nothing but marvel at them.

So do my friends.

But even when I do have to leave my stars, I know they won’t be forever gone. Even when they are not standing by my side or watching above me, I know they will still stand with me.

And one of my favorite quotes helps me remember this.

“Good friends are like stars. You don’t always see them, but you know they’re always there.” – Christy Evans