"Goodbye, Goodbye, See You In December."

Many of you who are familiar to these parts know that Gabriel and I often have what is considered to be a long distance friendship. They go to school about 1,300 miles away from me, so we often have a really long summer, followed by not seeing each other until December. Then we hang out for a month, then we don't see each other for a month, then spring break. Then, the cycle continues. The first time it was really hard because who doesn't miss seeing your best friend every day?
But the thing about being so far away from each other is that you get to realize how important that person in your life. You realize that you're the luckiest person because they are in your life. Because of Gabriel, I learned that friendship isn't measured in the amount of frequency that you see each other, but how much you are really there for each other. They were there for me literally when I needed someone to cry to about bad days, and boy issues.
I loved spending all of the summer with Gabriel. I loved going to the beach together, getting pizza, getting thai food, and just hanging out. It's really rare to have a friend that you're able to just hang out with. Gabriel is the best friend that I could ever ask for. Sometimes, we do drive each other nuts, and I'm pretty sure that I can't live with them, because we'd end up killing each other. But, there are my 'person', and I wish them nothing but a great semester of them staying out of trouble.
I think sometimes having that friend in your life is important because then they grow with you, and they are always there. I am so lucky to have Gabriel in my life, despite the fact that I sometimes want to kill them. So, goodbye, goodbye. See you in December (possibly November)!

"Thank You For Being A Friend"

Last Friday, I didn't exactly have the greatest days. I'm not really down to go into it, but I was in need for some cheering up. Enter the crying Natalie calling the Gabriel, who dropped everything and picked me up in less than a half of an hour into the call. 

At first Gabriel just gave me a hug as I was crying, but then they knew the secret to cheering me up. Baking cookies. So, we went to stop and shop, where we picked up chocolate chips, frosting, and m and ms. Gabriel bought them all for me, because they are the best. 

I didn't exactly help out bake the cookies, rather than just hang out and take things out on Gabriel. But, eventually I felt better about it, and Gabriel and I went on a walk and took a ton of awesome pictures. 

Gabriel and I-my new favorite picture!

One of the things that I learned was that Gabriel is really there for me. It's a rarity to have a friend that would literally drop everything that they are doing  just to cheer their best friend up. I am so glad to have a person like Gabriel in my life, because I know whenever something good or bad happens, they are always there for me. They even put up with my multiple selfies that I take despite the fact that they really don't like them. A best friend is exactly like that. Gabriel, I love you and I am so thankful for you being my best friend. Thank you for always being there for me. I love you, and I will do the same for you. 

XOXO, Enkyuu

"Those Summer Days."

One of the best parts of summer is by far that Gabriel is at last home. And we've pretty much spent time with each other at least once a week, if not more. One of the places that we often end up is at their house, where we spend lots of time together.
Last week, we hung out on my day off. We baked really good cookies!

Cookies in the flesh.
We also took a selfie, seen here.
 
Selfie time with Gabriel; this was actually meant to be a Snapchat.
One of the reasons why this is a post is because spending QT with Gabriel is important to me. Probably because of the distance, and because once the end of August rolls around they'll be off to college once again. It's always fun to see your best friend, talk about life, bake cookies, and just hang out. We manage to make distance seem like NBD, and we still manage to be important people in each other's lives. It's safe to say that Gabriel is one of the more important people in my life, and I am so grateful to have them as my best friend. (PS. Shout out to Gabriel for listening to me complain and be crabby. They are truly the best)
The summer days with Gabriel will soon fade to fall, however, our friendship will still be here. (And reduced to phone calls and text messages) Cliche, yes? But they are my best friend, and at the end of the day that's all that truly matters. And of course, that we get Starbucks, cookies, and pie.

"It's Not A Goodbye, It's a See You Later"

Here he is making me pancakes!

My Fave!

Yesterday, I had to say good bye to my best friend Gabriel who was heading back to the Twin Cities. He goes to school at Maclaster College, which is pretty far away from where I currently am. (Over one thousand miles, isn't that crazy?)
Saying goodbye to someone is never easy. When I said goodbye to Alessia, my friend in Italy, it was hard because I didn't know when I was going to see her again. Or even if, because plane tickets are expensive. With that being said, saying goodbye to Gabriel wasn't bad because we knew one thing. We would see each other when he got back.
Over the break, it's safe to say that I have spent most of my time with him. I feel bad for ditching my other friends, however I hope that they understand that the fact that he's not here everyday makes the time that I do get to spend with him very precious. Towards the end of his time here, we try to spend as much time humanly possible together because we know that this is truly it. We usually try to take a bunch of pictures (my doing) so we can have them when we are apart. We have a ritual where we would eat pizza together, and get Starbucks, which we do. We said goodbye yesterday as he dropped me off to work. We ate lunch together, and I went to his father's church service. (His parents are ministers)
Even though the goodbye was sad, I knew that I would be seeing him again in March when he comes home for Spring Break. That means I'll see him in less than 60 days. The last time, it was a lot harder because I knew that I wouldn't see him until there was snow on the ground. I also didn't know what I would be expecting when he left.
I realized something too. I realized that no matter how far we go from each other, I will always have him as a friend. I learned that distance truly shouldn't affect your friendship. I do think it changes it because we're no longer living in the same time zone. You have to realize that both parties have things going on. For example we try to talk on the phone at least once a month, skype as much as humanly possible, and make sure that we text as much as we can. He's my best friend, and I truly realized that as he went away. When we were reunited, it felt like we technically weren't apart. That, my friend, is the true meaning of friendship.
So Herb, I will miss you very much. However, I hope that you have a great semester. I hope that you have a great time, and I hope that when you get back in March we will have lots of fun adventures ahead of us. Here's to the Starbucks, and to the good times. I love you, and it's really not a good bye. It's a see you in March kind of thing.