Kip Unfiltered

It’s funny that when you are friends with someone for a really long time, it’s kind of like time-travelling. You can see their past self alongside their present self, and it’s a little like going back in time.

My dear friend from high school, with whom I’ve been close friends since we were fifteen, came back from Holland for the holidays. And when I am in her car or talking to her, it feels like we are teenagers again, exploring the world. No boyfriends, no jobs, no college courses.

Just us and adventure.

Now, as we lie on the top of a huge grassy hill updating each other on our current lives, I can’t help but beam at how far we’ve come. I met her at fifteen, our sophomore year of high school, a new student who had just arrived from the East Coast.

And when I look at her now, I still see that new student again, the new student that I had befriended and given a chance to, when no one had. We were both shy, unsure of ourselves, just dying to get out of our homes to explore the world.

And now, when I look into her eyes, I am fifteen again.

I see the time we took the train all the way to San Francisco, eating cookie dough at Fisherman’s Wharf, hopping on a boat that goes under the Golden Gate, and befriending strangers like it wasn’t dangerous.

I look into her eyes and I see the girl I sat next to in Trigonometry in my Junior year, where she helped me with every problem and homework question because I was terrible at math.

I look into her eyes and I see the conjoined Karoke party we had for our 17th birthday because our birthdays were only 2 days apart.

I look into her eyes and I am reminded of all those dance parties we’ve done at each other’s houses, sleeping next to each other and watching Barbie movies till midnight.

I look into her eyes and I see all those ubers we took because we didn’t have our licenses yet- going to random strip malls and getting stranded until someone picks us up.

I look her into eyes and my heart fills with memories of our teenage years and how much she meant to me back then- and still now. Our precious youth, encapsulated in each other’s hearts, will always transport me back to those times when I am with her.

I see how much she has changed from her fifteen year old self as if I got a glimpse into the past. I’m sure she sees the same for me too and I am so entirely grateful we grew up with each other.