Dear Makayla,

Four enormous white vans pile into the tiny town of Glen Arbor. Little shops line the streets in every direction. We hop out of the van and watch as everyone quickly scatters away from each other. Each direction is flooded with laughs and smiles from all of the Cross Country runners rushing to get whatever they can in an hour.  As we make our way around, the smell of food fills our noses. Whether it is the sweet smell of candy or the smell of fresh french fries, it makes our mouths instantly water. We pass by Cherry Republic, which is definitely one of my favorite shops. All of the free samples beg us to try them. I am even convinced by Alli to try the spiciest ghost pepper barbeque sauce. Then I see the bracelet store. This is my all time favorite store. As we walk in, I look around at all of the little jewelry they have until I find the bowl of string bracelets. I stare at each one for a while until I find one that stands out. It may seem like just an ordinary two dollar bracelet to most people, but to us, it is so much more.

As you tie my bracelet on, I realize how lucky I am to have you as my best friend.  Your long brown hair falls upon your back as your fingers grasp the strings. After you are done tieing mine, I tie yours. When I look at the bracelet now, it makes me think about what my life would be like without you. It would be so boring! I would not laugh or smile nearly as much. Your personality can brighten my day even when it is going horrible. I also would not be doing Cross Country if it were not for you. During the first half of freshman year, we went our separate ways because I did not run. Luckily I did track and that made me realize how much I missed running with you and missed seeing you all the time. Not a lot of people have a set running buddy, but you will always be mine!

Every day I look down and stroke my bracelets to remind me of all the amazing memories I have made because of it. The tropical greens, blues, and purples all stand out as bright as the sun. The tiny threads all sewn together perfectly make the moment even better. At camp, we did everything together, whether it was running, eating, or using all the hot water in the showers together, we had a blast. I could not have survived our cabin without you. No one else could relate to how annoyed we were with the rest of our cabin for screaming at three in the morning when all we wanted to do was sleep! I also could not have survived the dune challenge. The rock-filled sand cut our feet and knuckles as we made our way up the very steep dune. It felt like an eternity has passed, but then I realized that we were only half way up! We encourage each other all the way to the top and finish together. We are definitely doing that next year too.

Then it is time to leave. We pack our bags and look around one last time as we hop into the vans. We may get slightly annoyed with each other because we have spent the last five days straight with each other, but I still would not change a thing about it! As I wear my bracelet, it makes me miss camp. Not necessarily the running part of it, but the many friendships and memories I have made because of it. I wear this bracelet to represent my love for cross country. Without doing this sport, I do not know where I would be in life. I would have missed out on meeting my best friend! I would miss all of our recent face times we have to do “core” and end up being hours of us laughing and sharing stories with each other and then skipping core because we do not feel like doing it. As I look at my bracelet, It makes me wish we were on our way to camp together right now so we can get another bracelet to start filling up with memories! Even when the strings begin to tear and eventually fall off, I will always keep it very close to me because even though it is no longer attached to me, the strong bond we have will always be there and I will never forget the memories we have made and the many more that will come in the future.

Sincerely, Jillian