And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives

Where we’re gonna be when we turn 25

I keep thinking times will never change

Keep on thinking things will always be the same

-The Graduation Song (Friends Forever), Vitamin C

Back when I was 18, this corny but haunting song was on the radio all the time. For the first time in my life I started to realize that I was getting older and the life as I had known it thus far would be changing rapidly.

The lines in that song made me actually think ahead to my twenty-fifth birthday in 2006. “What will life be like when I’m 25?” I hoped that I would get out of Nanaimo, get an education somewhere and establish myself in journalism. I dreamt that I would meet and love new people while staying in touch with those precious friends of the past.

Sadly, some of my dearest, closest friends from that era are no longer with me. I miss them so much. As I look back over the years I remember how they were never further than a phone call away. Although I’ve made many new friends since, I can’t help but feel a tinge of regret and frustration when I look around me and see a few missing places at the table.

Some people just can’t be replaced.

Ever.

That being said, we must move on with life honouring the past but staying focused on the present with an eye to the future. I am surrounded by many wonderful, loving people. Nobody more so than my “co-best friends” Shantel and Michelle who launched my “birthday week” on Saturday night with an impromptu campfire party at the beach. We had a wonderful time, it was one of the happiest nights I’ve had in years.