Some friendships are too beautiful to keep to yourself. This is a gratitude letter to my best friend, one that is so precious to me that I would like to share. :)

* * *

S,

We peel oranges. Citrus sun in our hands, sharing sweet slices of stillness and joy. Each flavor a reminder of simple grace, that something small can hold so much comfort. You’re my best friend, my little sister, but also an inspiration to seeing endurance with kindness as armor, genuineness as a crown, and wisdom in the soil of our conversations. Those small moments, the kind that don’t seem like much, are often the ones I remember most.

You don’t try to be profound, but somehow always are.

It’s in the way you listen, in the way you remember tiny things I’ve said in passing, and in the way you read and write. Stitching pieces of the world and my thoughts into understanding.

Franz Kafka, Sylvia Plath, Toni Morrison, Donna Tartt… Authors you introduced me to with a quiet conviction that left a big impact on my life. And when the world feels too sharp, it’s their lines — and yours — that soften the edges. They made their way into my bones because you believed they would speak to me.  And they did.

You never demand to be the loudest in the room, and your presence always lands the softest, the one that stays.

With you, I’ve peeled oranges and fears,

cried over boys and dreams,

shared stories and silence,

frolicked through joy and hustled through chaos,

traveled with and learned to grow with.

And through it all, I’ve become someone I feel proud of —

someone a little softer, a little braver,

a little more at home in the world,

and a little more grounded in who I am and who I want to be.

The best way to describe you and for anyone who has the privilege to call you their friend, is

a light that helps others find their way,

and shines unbroken beneath the weight of the world.

Oh heyyy now chingu… this is all so poetic and cheesy,

you’re going to make fun of me.

Please accept this not as a confession (holy, I am straight),

but as a gratititude to celebrate the endless grace you carry

and the INCREDIBLE person you are ! ! ! Yay !

By the way, finished reading Tuesdays with Morrie recently,

lessons of compassion, courage, and presence.

The book reminded me to live with open hands,

teaches me to be fully here,

not compromising my goals and passions,

but to listen, to feel, when needed.

And for that,

I am grateful that I’d already learned this all not through the wise words of a memoir,

but through the testimony of our friendship. <3

Thank you so much.

From this chapter to the next, may your path be lined with petals.

꽃길만 걷자 ! ! ✿𓈒 只走花路吧 ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

Let’s walk only on flower paths ~

Your unnie who supports you always,

Christa