Best Friends

These are my best friends. We didn't know each other when we were 5-years-old; our moms didn't carpool us around; we didn't do gymnastics together or have the same kindergarten teacher...but why would that matter? We love and adore each other, we're here for each other through break-ups, weddings, babies and everything else we face. I never judge my friendships and I never make someone feel like less of a friend because we met when I was 25. I have these friends because we share common interest, we have a great time together and we know we can count on each other.

I will never understand excluding a person because we didn't share the same sandbox at age 2; I will never brush someone aside because my "friend from junior high" is more important. Maybe that's because I moved away from my hometown at 14 and I never really looked back. I have always been put in a position to continuously make new friends because I was the new kid in high school, I didn't go to college with my best friend, my sorority sisters we never real friends and I have moved 3 times in two years. I don't see this as a burden, I find it exciting; exciting that I get to make new friends from different parts of the country and with different backgrounds. We can meet and marry a person within a few years but we discount our friendships unless they are 15 years in the making; why?

Oh and the best part about this post, how these girls have loved me through all of my hair color changes :)

These are my best friends...

Me and Kristin in Vegas for my Bachelorette party; we met in high school

Me and Sam, at my wedding, because she is and will always be my .01

Me and Jeanette, in Vegas for my Bachelorette; we met in college but didn't hangout until after

Me and Jenny, at SXSW...we met about a year ago

The beautiful Kacie Whigham; we met through an ex-bf but that never effected our friendship

Me and Theresa; we live in the same building and met through our dogs :)

Courtney, Micki and me...I cannot say enough about these two as our friendship has grown stronger and stronger beyond high school, beyond college and we would do anything for each other.

M'lynn, me, Andrea and Megan...
M'lynn lives in our building and she has been a best friend since the first day we met.

I met Andrea when she moved to Austin from Chicago to be with her finance; we hit it off :)

Megan and I do the same thing in the same industry and even though we worked for competing firms, she was still so nice to me and we've been great friends ever since!

I have many more friends and great friendships growing but this post was mostly my soapbox about being left out of situations because I didn't share the same junior high cheer-leading coach. I don't discount that connection is very strong and everyone loves to have those friends from pre-school but I don't and I don't want to feel like less of a friend because of it. I love my friends, they are my family, and even as our lives change, these girls will always hold a special place in my heart.