By Rania Naim
Thank you for being in my life even if my life took me miles and miles away from you, I can still feel you next to me.
Thank you for always lifting me up when I'm down even if you have to do it through video calls and weak internet connection.
Thank you for being the same old friends I grew up with even if you're now married with kids.
Thank you for breaking all the barriers of distance and time when we meet again and find that nothing has changed.
Thank you for giving me a bond and a friendship that will live and die with me. Thank you for being an example of friendships that last no matter what life throws our way.
Thank you for giving me the best reunions and the warmest welcomes.
Thank you for believing in me even when you don't understand what I'm doing.
Thank you for being the ones who still take care of me when I'm a mess.
Thank you for still being my partners in crime when we reunite, giving me adventures and crazy stories all over the world.
Thank you for traveling to meet me halfway and thank you for crossing oceans to see me.
Thank you for loving me no matter how the years have changed me.
Thank you for allowing me to change, for allowing me to grow and for reassuring me that you'll always be there for the good and the bad.
Thank you for everything you've done and everything you still do.
But more than anything, thank you for making me feel safe in knowing that wherever life takes me, I can always come back to you. I can always find a home in you.
Thank you for not letting life and distance define our friendship.
Thank you for forgiving me for all the times I wasn't there and for not holding it against me.
And last not least, thank you for saving me from all the hardships, all the obstacles, the self-destructive days and the self-loathing nights.
Thank you for helping me find my way when I'm lost and for opening your door to me when I didn't even knock on it. TC mark
Rania Naim is a poet and author of the new book All The Words I Should Have Said, available here.