MY BESTEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD
other than David, is all the way across the globe from me right now and she's none other than the person who has written in the Tag Board that I had put up not 30 minutes before! How mind blowing is THAT?
We had been friends since we were 7 years old attending school at the Holy Infant Jesus Convent ( where HER mom taught English ) which was just right down the road ( albeit a VERY BUSY main road ) from my house, till we were 15. Then, I moved to another part of town and started attending another school ( where MY MOM taught English and Art ), but the irony here was, it made HER HOUSE just 5 minutes' walk from my new home!
I used to spend hours and hours, day after day, at her house and we were each other's Intellectual Stimulants ( or I.S. ) as we used to call it and shared secrets and aspirations in the sanctuary of her room. Those were such sweet times, it almost hurts to think back to those innocent young times when we were both the wackiest people we knew, and she always accepted me as i was. Till this day, it strikes me that she just may be the only person to truly understand me.
Eileen is undeniably one of those at the top of my list of People Who Have Had A Definite Positive Influence In My Life. She believed in me during the times when I felt the lowest and boosted my self esteem whenever she could. I was really fat growing up and had miserable amounts of self confidence but through Eileen's love, encouragement and support, I began to love myself for who I was and I can say with confidence that a lot of what I am today, I owe to her true friendship.
All friendships go through trials and tests, but our bond was strong - I stayed back in our hometown to finish Secondary School and attended local universities, while Eileen went off to the big city to do her A Levels and then to Australia for her undergraduate studies. We used to write such long letters to each other. I loved receiving news from her, sharing our experiences, happy times as well as fears, AND she was also one of the wittiest and sweetest people I have ever known. Another funny thing here is our handwritings are very similar and i remember one time when she received a letter from me and her dad said "oh, and you got a letter from YOURSELF!" while going through the day's mail.
When she got married in 1996, I felt so happy for her for she was obviously the apple of Chris' eye and yet there was a pang in my heart that she was still so far away so I told my boss at that time i just HAD to take a couple of weeks off to celebrate her joyous occasion with her and wouldn't you know it, she was just about the most beautiful bride you could ever have dreamed up with her beautiful satin gown and her hair all up with little rosebuds in them.
Hate as we may to admit it, we are growing up and older in this world that is full of challenges, with it happy and sad experiences all bundled in one and often the dividing line is all fuzzy, but through it all, Eileen remains a rock for me and truly my bestest friend in the world. I love you SO MUCH, my friend :)
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