"Pomp and Circumstance" rings from the grand piano.
I stride down the blue carpet.
Everyone watches me and smiles with tears in their eyes.
There's Lauryn,
One of my best friends.
I can tell her anything -
How hard the divorce was,
How I hate boys
How I used to wish I didn't exist.
She understands - she's been there too.
She cries as my father hands me my diploma and my mother hugs me
because she is proud of me
not only for making it,
but for making the best of it.
She is a junior, so I am not losing her yet,
But she is leaving for Texas tomorrow
To spend the summer with her dad.
Why do friends leave?
There's John.
He's dressed in a suit and tie and standing proudly in the row with my friends.
He graduates next week.
After that he's Citadel-bound.
He wants to be a Marine.
I should have known better than to be his friend.
What was I thinking?
All he's ever wanted has been to go.
He's strong that way.
I should have pushed him away when he started being nice,
At the beginning of senior year.
I knew he was leaving.
But they told me, "It's better to love and lose
Than to not love. Be his friend."
Was I wrong?
I will miss his graduation -
I have to work.
Now all I can think when I see him is that I'll lose him in August.
Why do friends walk out of our lives?
There's Matthew.
We're not really friends.
Not really.
I am friends with his sister,
But I barely know him.
But two years ago,
On a youth trip in Kentucky,
He asked me,
"Would you go home or stay, if you could choose?"
I said, "I'd stay forever.
Here I don't have to remember
My family is splitting apart at the seams,
And home will never be the same again."
"I can't imagine what that would be like.
I'd stay here too.
Here I don't have to watch my little brother die."
As he watches me make my address,
I hope he knows how much the chance he took to show me sympathy meant.
I'll never forget.
I meet his eyes as I speak,
And he smiles encouragingly.
Does he know how much I regret
Not pursuing his friendship?
Does he know that I'll miss him,
When he enlists in the army in the fall?
Why do friends walk away?
There's Jason.
He and I were enemies,
Then rivals,
Then acquaintances,
before we were ever friends.
He dated my best friend,
So of course I resented him,
Because no one is good enough for her.
But when they broke up,
And I didn't have to worry about them breaking up,
And he started working at Wendy's with me,
And I started teasing him constantly,
And throwing rags at him,
And he kept hugging me at the end of each shift anyway,
We somehow became friends.
Now I'm quitting my job,
And hoping I'm not quitting Jason too.
Will our flimsy friendship last?
There's Zach.
Following me as we march out capless.
Another potential good friend that I didn't pursue
Because I was afraid to lose.
Now he's going away to college,
So he can train to go into the FBI,
And I may never see him again.

Why?
Then there's Elena.
We have been friends since we were 3,
And she has been my best friend since 7th grade.
We have done everything together -
High school,
Teen hood
Going to see our favorite plays
Church
Teaching Sunday school
Leading small groups
Planning VBS
Prom
Now graduation.
We grew up together.
I want to hug her now that the ceremony is over.
But she's busy,
As always now.
And I can't help but wonder
If I'm losing her too.
She will be gone all summer.
This fall she flies to England to be a missionary.
I am proud of her for following the Lord,
Even if He leads us apart,
But I hope He doesn't. Not yet.

What would I do?

What have I done?

Why have I let these people slip through my fingers like sand through an hourglass?

As I run to the reception,

And they receive me,

With chattering tongues

And accolades

Of how proud they are of me

For finishing,

With open arms,

And good, hard hugs,

The kind that makes you feel secure and warm inside,

And rare sentiment,

And proud selfies,

I know how loved I am,

What a gift this is,

And I know I cannot take them for granted,

Or be afraid anymore.
I will fight for our friendship
Until I am a lost cause
Or until what we have built is indestructible.
And I will not give up on my friends -
Lauryn, John, Matthew, Jason, Zach, Elena

Kaleigh, David, Sarah, Wyc, Erica, Taylor, Sam,

Santos, Ellington, Brentley, Shaina, Carrie,

Hannah, Grace, Abigail, Anne Darby, Naomi, Amanda, Erin

Eddy, Savannah, Caleb.... -
Until they give up on me.
And I will not let fear cheat me out of my friends,

Because all these people are wonderful and wonderfully made.

They are gifts to be treasured.
Because friendship is one of God's most exhilarating presents to me,
And from now on I will treasure every moment,
Not as a right,
But as a gracious, glorious gift.