14 letters cascaded out of my little P.O. box today; it’s nice to still feel important every now and then. In each envelope was either monogrammed stationary or a crossed-out invitation card with an inspirational marathon quote on it. There was one letter for each day between the two week mark and my very first marathon, which is on Sunday. My personal favorite that I have opened so far is: “Work like you don’t need money, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like no one’s watching, and run like your friends are there with you, cheering you on all the way.” Who else but my best friend, Jessica, could be the mastermind behind this?
We’ve all experienced the archetypal best friend in literature, media, or possibly everyday life: someone who is always there to keep you on track, keep you focused, and keep things upbeat. Jessica Bianco has fulfilled each of these roles for me ten times over for most of our high school careers. Freshman year, grades ruled my life: I was that kid who was disappointed with a 98. Back then, I never realized how obnoxious it must have been, but looking back now, I send my sincere apologies to my classmates who had to live with that. Sophomore year was when Jessica and I began to form our alliance, but it wasn’t until junior year that we had walked a mile in each other’s shoes…literally.
Jessica helped me realize that there is so much more to life than grades and beating people. She helped me slow down and enjoy high school while it lasted. She somehow managed to convince me that I was not going to die if I didn’t have the highest grade on a test, or didn’t get into some ivy league school. She has always been there for me with Red Bull shots after almost all-nighters, some crazy story about what happened to her dog, Trixie, on their morning walk, and 50 cents for Sonic happy hour slushies, since I was usually broke. Whenever the going got tough, I was so eloquently reminded that, “It’s senior year! No one cares!”
As usual, Jessica will be there this weekend, as I set out on my 26.2 mile journey, keeping me sane and keeping me from mentally defeating myself, just like she always has. I cannot even begin to express how lucky I am to have such an amazing person there to support me and help me through everything. I shudder to think of the tight-wad, psychotic, school junkie that I would be by now had someone not stepped in. I owe Jessica so much, especially since I do not know where or who I would be today without her.
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