"It's not goodbye, it's just see you later."



"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together...there is something you must remember: you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart, I'll always be with you." - Winnie the Pooh.

When I first moved from London to my little coastal town, I was beside myself with worry.

In London, I had a secure friendship unit, I'd had the same best friend since I was 2 and I knew my weekends would be spent sat in the attic in a close friend's house, playing Mario Party 4 on the GameCube or having water fights with 5 other close friends. As an 11 year old, I thought I was sorted for life. That was until I moved 64 miles away.

My first weekend in this town was spent attempting to teach my dog how to bark the tune of 'Babycakes' - 3 of a Kind (it was number 1 during the month we moved, don't judge me) and my Mum tells me that I cried myself to sleep every night for a good month. I'm pretty sure she's lying though (she is definitely not lying).

I thought I had lost everything until I met the wonderful people this blog post is about. Suddenly, I had friends, I was being invited to places and my weekends were no longer spent following my parent's round the supermarket. Don't get me wrong, this didn't happen overnight. Trust me, I was never 'cool' (on my first day at my new school, I smashed myself in the face and knocked my glasses off whilst introducing myself) and I had a 'funny' accent. I was never the sort of person to have a queue of people begging to be my friend but eventually, a group of people stupid enough to think I was sort of funny took me under their wings and for that, I will always be grateful.

7 years on, having got through school and college coming out slightly frayed, battered and bruised, it's safe to say that the majority of us are still friends. Maybe not the best of friend's, but we're all civil and polite to each other. We're old enough now to look past silly mistakes and pathetic arguments to realise we went through a lot together. Friendship groups changed, people moved away and we all 'grew up'. It's now time to make the all important decisions that come with being an adult (well, 18...I mean, we might be able to vote but we're hardly 'grown ups').

Some of us are off to University, other's are looking for full time work and a couple of us are still at college. Regardless of our situations, we're all moving onto bigger and better things. We have choices that weren't avaliable without A Level results and we're all ready to mark our place in this crazy world.

2 days ago, I spent the day with 3 friends as a sort of 'final day' before we all go our seperate ways. We got tattoos, piercings and spent the night watching rubbish films and laughing about past years. It got me thinking that although we're moving on, it doesn't necessarily mean we have to move away from each other. Yes, friendship isn't forever, but sometimes you're just not strong enough to say goodbye.

I'm rubbish with goodbyes which is why I'm writing this; it's my 'ode' to the people that have completed me for the past 7 years (or more, if you're reading this outside of Eastbourne...).

To the girls who made me laugh so much I genuinely considered buying stocks for Tena Lady, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You provided me with friendship, strength, laughter and love and gave me the perfect amount of all 4 things to keep my feet on the ground and my heart is completely your's for that. Thank you for letting me write essays in every single birthday/Christmas card, thank you for telling me when my hair/make-up/clothes looked stupid and thank you for indulging me with the 'Gangsta Nun' fancy dress. I have no idea how you coped with all my silly phases, but that's something that makes you superhuman in my eyes. Thank you for being there for me throughout every single silly mistake I made, thank you for inspiring me on a daily basis and thank you for being the best friend's a girl could possibly ask for. Not a day goes past that I'm not reminded just how brilliant you all are and I'm so incredibly proud of us all for getting this far. I wish I could say more but I have a reputation to uphold (*cue laughter here*) and I'm getting too emotional for my own liking right now. Oh, I've just realised I've forgotten the biggest thing: THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH for putting up with my Mum. It takes somebody extraordinary to cope with her and her ways, but you guys succeeded. She's also just told me that if you ever want cake/pie/crumble/food in general, she's your girl. She expects you all to be shotting sambuca with her at my 40th birthday party (I promise not to pass out this time...).

One last thing: wherever you are in the world whether it be China, Africa, London or Eastbourne, just know that I'll always have your backs. You all rock my world so bloomin' hard and if anything, I think it's time that the rest of the population got to experience a little piece of you. Let's be honest, I've been selfish...it's time you spread you wings, I can't keep you forever.

xxxxxx

I don't understand why they're half naked either but it seemed right to go out with the cheesy factor.