According to the tattered pages of a book we called “Our Life,” Eleanor Farrell and I began our friendship during kindergarten recess. She liked that my blonde hair resembled hers, and from then on, it was definite: we were long-lost twins.
In all honesty, that book we made in art class might be far from the truth and just the result of our imaginative five-year-old minds, but I like to think it was all real.
“Our Life” is the only thing we have to show for the beginning of our 12-year-long friendship, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. For as long as I can remember, it has always been the two of us: Elle and Eleanor, Eleanor and Elle. If not anything else in my life, she is a constant.
In many ways, it feels vulnerable to know someone so well and to be known by them just as deeply. In my friendship with Eleanor, there have been moments when I worried about opening up to her, but once I did, I realized that vulnerability is what makes our relationship so strong. She’s never given me a reason not to be myself around her. Eleanor has cried with me at my worst, cheered me on at my best, and believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.
She and I have grown up together, and throughout those 12 years, we continue to grow closer. While our kindergarten selves believed we were twins, we quickly realized that was not the case. We connect at the core of who we are, but truthfully, the rest couldn’t be more different. Eleanor is the sun, I am the moon. She’s an extrovert, I am an introvert. She’s a day in the city, I’m a day at the beach. But our opposites work in the best way. I bring elements of myself to our friendship that Eleanor doesn’t have, and she does the same for me. There’s always something to be learned from each other, and in the end, it’s only made us better friends.
At some point, our friendship became a bit of a bubble. There were always other people in her life and mine, but while they came and went, Eleanor never did. Somehow, we’ve managed to stick together for so long that it feels like a sibling bond. A little part of me will always hold on to when we were all each other knew, but as our circles expand past each other’s company, it makes me happiest to see others get to know and love her just like I do.
In the end, the two of us have never been something that I’ve had to overthink. The best parts of our relationship live in the comfortable silence we share because we simply understand each other. And no matter what happens in the future, I will never regret our friendship. Finding a friend so young who chooses to stick by you time and time again is not something that happens for everyone, so I consider myself incredibly lucky.
Everyone deserves an Eleanor.
