WHEN SHE NEEDED ME

I can still remember the first day when I met my best friend. She had just moved into the neighborhood and her grandmother who also lived in the neighborhood brought her down to meet me. I hid behind my mother and she hid behind her grandmother, scared to look at each other. Soon, we lost the shyness and started playing with each other, bike riding to each other's house and having sleepovers. In 7th grade, I first lost touch with her. She was going through family problems and I deserted her to be with the "cooler people". None of my new friends liked her as much as I did because they knew she had "problems". However every summer we would always sit at each other's house and watch soap operas, eat Doritos (or whatever junk food her mom had bought) and talk about all the boys we liked.

It was last year when I noticed the problem. I guess I was just to catch up in high school to realize she needed someone there for her. Well, she made a new "best friend" and so did I. Then I didn't know why, but she started cutting herself!

She was diagnosed with clinical depression, and had to go to a hospital during the day. I was very upset at first but with the late nite calls, and meeting each other halfway up the street at midnight. We still stayed in touch. I wanted to be there for her since her new best friend basically deserted her since people were calling her crazy, and I knew I still cared about her like a sister.

Yesterday she came to me and said this: "I never knew what a best friend was until you were the only person that would stop me from cutting; the only person that ever made me feel better about myself and my problems. You don't know this but I was trying to kill myself this one nite you called me and I was crying. I owe you so much, and you didn't even know you were helping me."

We both cried. And I guess a kind of lesson from my life so far is to never give up on your friends. Even if they aren't as cool as others, or people think they are crazy, they need someone there. If you desert them, you will only be miserable yourself. So if a friend needs you, and you care for them, you can never desert them.

Written by Chelle B.