I am not sure when I first met Aryan. It’s tough to imagine a part of my life he hasn’t been around for. 2022, 2023 I think. The spring of 2023! That’s the one. Not to make this about me (it’s always about me), it was one of the toughest months of my life. I credit our friendship for my ability to look back at it with generosity.
The start to our friendship was unconventional, to say the least. The first real moment of tenderness, however, is germane to the tone of our entire equation. I get in a funk, he pulls me out of it.
There is so much that our friendship teaches me about myself. How I loathe horror movies, hate sharing cutlery, and kinda suck at scrabble. There is so much that our friendship teaches me about you, Aryan. How you love accessorizing, own a baby pink hair styler thingy (wtf dude), your out of sight - out of mind cleaning skills, and your love for cooking banging meals. More than anything else though, our friendship teaches me how to live a little larger. It teaches me to linger at the doorframe, stay for one extra song, buy a silly gift.
My friendship with Aryan has undoubtedly changed how I move about life. I crave post dinner walks, for one. Very few of them are filled with the warmth of laughter and honey lemon tea, but I make do. I listen to a lot more music on the move. Never a daft punk song that does not remind me of you. Our friendship makes me want to travel more, for some reason. Surf a wave on the beach, drink a beer near the sea, etc etc. You get my drift ;)
My favorite thing about you, Aryan, is how much time you seem to have for the ones you love. I simply cannot recall a moment of absence, of distance, of unwillingness to peel back another layer of what our equation may hold for us. All the ways in which our lives can expand to make room for each other. Contrary to all the missed calls on my phone, I love making room for you. I love buying you ice cream and remembering what drink you like with your meals. I love listening to you yammer on about your newfangled academic interests and all your new crush(es). I love that you walk me through math problems I am unable to and mostly unwilling to solve.
I love how, in more ways than one, you always wait for me.
I miss my best friend, man. I miss our super long handshakes, all the gossip you pretended not to know, beefing with you but forgetting to tell you about it. I miss vada pav and shawarma with pickled beets. I miss learning about new French/German/Peruvian B&W films I would never, ever watch. I am so glad I am part of a universe that has our friendship in it. Thank you for being my friend.
Congratulations on almost developing a prefrontal cortex.
Happy birthday. I love you more than I love Razzy D.
A poem for my best friend.
A song for us ^.^
P.S - Stop comparing me to Dorameon!!!!!
or shall i say magyummm
also dw next time we play scrabble ill let you win (but only if you buy me another magnum)