978 miles

i met gigi last year, right after my canon event in early 2025, during my disney college program, and it feels like the kind of story i will whisper to myself forever, like the universe knew exactly when i needed her, and dropped her into my life like stardust, soft, sudden, and bright, and everything that felt heavy and messy and broken suddenly felt lighter, softer, like maybe magic was real

we became two peas in a pod instantly, if we were not working, we were together, if we were working, we were texting about when we would see each other next, she reminded me what a best friend actually is, not the loud movie kind, not the flashy over the top kind, but the soft constant kind that feels like home, like glitter on your skin, like sunlight in your hair, like laughter spilling so easily it echoes in your chest

our friendship lives in a million tiny sparkly memories that i keep in my pocket, endless sleepovers where the world paused, disney park days wandering with no plan, just laughing, mickey mouse shaped snacks and icecreams on fingers until our cheeks hurt, doordash drives because i was broke but somehow it became an adventure, windows down, music loud, pretending we were in our own coming of age movie, stardust photo booths capturing messy versions of ourselves we wanted to hold onto forever, matcha runs that felt like little rituals, soft and grounding, reminding me life could be sweet even when it was not, road trips to the beach, sand sticky on our feet, hair tangled in the wind, pink and orange sunsets, late night taco bell runs, full of giggles, secrets, fries and mountain dew, friend group drama we would watch from the sidelines, laughing quietly, shaking our heads, knowing that at the end of the day it was always us two, and that was enough

it was messy, and girly, and adult, and perfect, it did not matter that we had not known each other forever, because some people just show up, and instantly matter more than anyone else, gigi mattered like sunlight sneaking into your chest, refusing to leave, like warmth spilling over everything i thought i understood about friendship

when she moved back to chicago in june, i did not realize how much her presence had been holding me together until it was gone, the quiet felt heavy, soft, and aching at the same time, i would reach for my phone to tell her something small, and remember she was not here, missing her was like a cloud that never fully disappears, a favorite song ending too soon, a tiny ache that makes you grateful for every laugh, every late night, every little soft moment, and long distance is harder than i expected because seeing her only occasionally makes every visit feel like magic and every goodbye like a little storm

she still visits, she still calls, we still talk every single day, we whisper about the future like it is already ours, a secret spell we are casting together, one day we will live in a pink home together, a safe, warm, sparkly space, where the struggles of our college program do not exist, where the stress, the exhaustion, the little heartbreaks turn into stories we laugh about, stories that feel glittering and permanent, where we drink matcha in the mornings, drive to the beach whenever we feel like it, late night taco bell runs just because, laughing at chaos from a distance but never getting lost in it, because we will always have each other

sometimes i catch myself thinking about how fast someone can become essential to your life, how presence matters more than years, how love, and laughter, and friendship can feel like magic, sunlight caught in a jar, and also real, true, permanent, gigi changed my world in the softest, brightest, sparkliest way possible, i will never stop being grateful that she is in it

and i hope she knows that one day we will be sitting on that velvet green couch together, sun streaming through the windows, vanilla matchas in hand, laughing at the past, dreaming about the future, remembering that it all started with a severely underpaid internship program with two best friends who did not even know how much they needed each other until they could not imagine life without one another, and that long distance can never change what we have.

xoxo
lisita