“You can count on me like one, two, three. I’ll be there. And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two, And you’ll be there. ‘Cause that’s what friends are supposed to do, oh, yeah. Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh, yeah, yeah.”
This one lyric from “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars is different for everyone who listens to it. For me, I always cry when I hear it because of the person it reminds me of.Â
Many people I know would say that their friends from high school all stayed somewhere either close to home or somewhere in the U.S. to continue their education. I can say that most of my friends stayed close to home or went to a different state for college. But, my very close friend did not stay close or stayed in the U.S. She went back to her home in Iraq to continue her education. Many people do not believe me when I say that because they all think that I am lying. I’m not lying.Â
When I first met Zahara, we were in our school’s book club. One day, when we were both waiting for our ride, she mentioned her cousins and I realized that I had known her cousins when I was younger. After that, we became very close friends. I say that many of my friends are like siblings to me. There are two close friends from my childhood that I will always see as my siblings, and she is one of them.Â
By the time our senior year came around, Zahara had gone home to visit family and to stay at home for a while. Zahara messaged me saying that she may or may not come back to our high school to complete her senior year. I’m not going to lie; I was saddened by that thought of her not coming back. I was nervous I was never going to see her again. One day, I heard the business teacher talking to someone and saying, “welcome to the class. I will help you catch up.” I turned to look at the door to see Zahara walking into the class. Without a second thought, I ran from my seat and hugged her so tight that I didn’t want to let go. I was holding back so many tears when I hugged her.Â
When graduation came around, I was so happy to see her walk across the stage. I knew so much about her past and the struggles that she had been through and I was so happy for her and proud of her. After graduation, she went home to Iraq to continue her education, and she is doing amazing. Whenever I see that she posted something on her Instagram story, I always stop what I am doing to see how she is doing.Â
“You can count on me like one, two, three, I’ll be there. And I know when I need it I can count on you like four, three, two And you’ll be there. ‘Cause that’s what friends are supposed to do, oh, yeah. Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh. You can count on me ’cause I can count on you!”