An Open Letter To My Long Distance Best Friend

To my best friend,

I never thought of soulmates in a platonic sense until I met you. When I was little, I always envisioned my soulmate as a nerdy boy with shaggy brown hair, and when we linked eyes, it would be love at first sight. 

I definitely wouldn’t call the start of our friendship love at first sight. We were acquaintances. You were a senior in high school, and I was a freshman. We hung out and shared jokes during after-school meetings for that nerdy club that will not be named. 

But then, something shifted. I remember we had a fire drill toward the end of the year. We were sitting in the auditorium, waiting to be dismissed back to class. I was watching The Last Five Years on my phone, earbuds in my ear, and the screen close to my face. My brightness was low because I was embarrassed for someone to see me watching a musical. But then, you sat beside me and physically inserted yourself between my face and the phone. You laughed and said, “oh my god, is that The Last Five Years?! I love that movie!!” You took one of the earbuds out of my ear and plopped in on your own. I looked at you and smiled, and we continued to watch, swooning together during “The Next Ten Minutes.”

And then it just snowballed from there. 

I still wouldn’t even say we were best friends yet– we merely went from acquaintances to good friends. The occasional after-school hang-out or text about random high school drama. 

And then you went off to college, and I stayed in our hometown. And though we weren’t in constant contact or in the same place, I loved how whenever we met up or talked, it was as though we had just talked the day before. I always feel anxious when talking to people– but with you, it was simply like taking a step forward. It still is.

Fast forward to the December of my senior year of high school. You were a junior at UT. Nearly three years had passed since that day you sat next to me in the auditorium. Classes and interests and boys had come and gone. 

We were baking cookies in your kitchen. You were home for the holidays, and I remember I was so so excited to see you. We were talking about my coming to Austin the following August and all my anxieties. And then, you said, “what if we moved in together?”

I said yes.

It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. 

I don’t know when we transitioned from friend to best friend. It’s hard to pinpoint a specific time. Was it when we decided to move in together? Singing karaoke to “Breaking Free” together at your birthday party? Listening to live Sunday morning music at Mozarts? Focusing in silence as we put on our makeup, getting ready to go watch Tootsie (which was so bad we left early)? 

I really don’t know. But when the time came for you to graduate, you were, without a doubt, my best friend. And I remember thinking, how could I possibly live in Austin without you? 

I wish I could have told myself then that everything would be okay. That you did end up moving, but I feel closer to you now more than ever.

We call almost every day. In between classes or just when we know the other is doing absolutely nothing. You send me TikToks, and I send you Instagram reels that you pretend you’ve never seen before. We Facetime to work together. We physically have to refrain from sharing every part of our day so we can have things to talk about when we see each other. 

When you visit, we go on Target runs, watch movies, or visit coffee shops. As I write this, you’re sitting right in front of me, totally unsuspecting that this article is about you. 

I guess I just wanted to take the time to write this because I wanted you to know how much I love you. I don’t think I say it enough. But I love you. And I appreciate you. And I’m grateful for the ways you ease my anxieties and never make me feel insecure or stupid. You’re always my hype woman, my shoulder to cry on, and the first person I call for advice on boys. You’re my favorite person to belt Hamilton with and to let myself ugly laugh in front of. You’re my person to consult about my wedding plans (even though there is no prospect for a groom) and to do a horrible British accent with. 

I love looking back at the people we were. All the phases of life we have gone through with each other. And the hundreds of other milestones we have left to experience. 

Yo te quiero,

Mirely.

• best friends
• friendship
• long distance
• long distance friendships
• platonic soulmates