Poorin... in reflective mood

In kindergarten, your idea of a good friend was the person who let you have the red crayon when all that was left was the ugly black one.

In first grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who went to the bathroom with you and held your hand as you walked through the scary halls.

In second grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you stand up to the class bully.

In third grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who shared their lunch with you when you forgot yours on the bus.

In fourth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who was willing to switch square dancing partners in gym so you wouldn't have to be stuck with Nasty Nick or Smelly Susan.

In fifth grade, your idea of a friend was the person who saved a seat on the back of the bus for you.

In sixth grade, your idea of a friend was the person who went up to Nick or Susan, your new crush, and asked them to dance with you, so that if they said no you wouldn't have to be embarrassed.

In seventh grade, your idea of a friend was the person who let you copy the social studies homework from the night before that you had.

In eighth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you pack up your stuffed animals and old baseball but didn't laugh at you when you finished and broke out into tears.

In ninth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who would go to a party thrown by a senior so you wouldn't wind up being the only freshman there.

In tenth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who changed their schedule so you would have someone to sit with at lunch.

In eleventh grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who gave you rides in their new car, convinced your parents that you shouldn't be grounded, consoled you when you broke up with Nick [or Glenn] or Susan, and found you a date to the prom.

In twelfth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you pick out a university, assured you that you would get into that university, helped you deal with your parents who were having a hard time adjusting to the idea of letting you go...

The summer after twelfth grade, your idea of a good friend was the person who helped you clean up the bottles from that party, helped you sneak out of the house when you just couldn't deal with your parents, assured you that now that you and Nick or you and Susan were back together, you could make it through anything, helped you pack up for university and just silently hugged you as you looked through blurry eyes at 18 years of memories you were leaving behind, and finally on those last days of childhood, went out of their way to give you reassurance that you would make it in university as well as you had these past 18 years, and most importantly sent you off to university knowing you were loved.

In university, your idea of a good friend was the person who was willing to accompany you to check out new club activities so that you can meet new people without feeling out of place, who assured you that your ex Nick or Susan is gone for good, who gave you space to be with newly-met John or Melanie during nights-out but still watching you from the distance to ensure that nobody is picking fights or taking advantage of you after five drinks, who took a long way route to drive you home or called you in the middle of the night to make sure you got home safely, who helped you in preparing your 21st birthday, who dragged you out to parties when you are depressed about your broken relationship or your failing subjects or just when you felt that everything in your life does not seem to make any sense, and you just have no idea why on earth you chose the subjects that seems to bring you nowhere, who shared their study notes and cram with you the last few nights of exam, who stayed up late until 4am and kept assuring you that you will pass the exams, who shared the joy that you at last graduated and always be with you til the very last day of university.

Now, your idea of a good friend is still the person who gives you the better of the two choices, people who holds your hand when you're scared, helps you fight off those who try to take advantage of you, thinks of you at times when you are not there, reminds you of what you have forgotten, helps you put the past behind you but understands when you need to hold on to it a little longer, stays with you so that you have confidence, people who goes out of their way to make time for you, helps you clear up your mistakes, helps you deal with pressure from others, smiles for you when they are sad, people who helps you become a better person, and most importantly cares about you with all their heart!  =)

Thank you for those who have cared for me in the past and still cares for me in the present… even though some of us have moved on in the next stage of our lives, chosen  different paths in life and may be busy with our own little things, but I will always remember things that we went through and shared together ^___^ You guys know who you are! <3