for my best friend - by kevin w - salad bar

Some people shape you without ever announcing that they are doing so. They do not arrive as mentors or turning points. They simply become part of your life, and over time, something in you begins to move differently. I met my best friend in high school, when time felt abundant, and the future still felt far away. We saw each other mostly on weekends, falling into an easy rhythm of studying together, attending Model United Nations, editing photos, and celebrating small victories that felt significant in their own quiet way. We also went on long walks, sometimes talking about the future as an open question we returned to again and again. Those conversations did not stay abstract for me. Over time, they became a quiet pressure to be more intentional. I did want to change and see personal growth, even if it did not happen all at once. Our conversations always, and I mean always, shifted how I thought about what I expected from myself. She would give advice in a way that never felt prescrip

Some people shape you without ever announcing that they are doing so. They do not arrive as mentors or turning points. They simply become part of your life, and over time, something in you begins to move differently. I met my best friend in high school, when time felt abundant, and the future still felt far away. We saw each other mostly on weekends, falling into an easy rhythm of studying together, attending Model United Nations, editing photos, and celebrating small victories that felt significant in their own quiet way. We also went on long walks, sometimes talking about the future as an op