I remember the exact date when it happened off of the top of my head: April 25th, 2016 while waiting for a pizza in the orchestra room after a volunteer session. “So what did you need to talk to me about?” I asked as we approached the area near the cello closet. “Kiana,” He paused and nervously smiled. Just imagine each sharpie, slowly going up my nose, as he looks up at me. I started to feel dizzy and borderline unaware of what was happening. It didn’t feel like it was real. This was definitely a dream. “Will you go out with me?” This just happened, this actually happened, I’d like to thank my arms for being on my side, my legs for supporting me, I thought. On, and my brain for thinking of a response, I thought as I instantaneously realized I hadn’t responded yet. A nervous “Dude, hell yeah.” fell from my mouth as the smile on my face that I wouldn’t be able to wipe off for a while crept onto my face.

In that moment my dizziness ceased. I suddenly realized that this was reality. He wasn’t the boy that claimed to be bound to his sadness anymore. He wasn’t my old friend anymore. He was made anew right as I said yes. His beautiful brown-green-golden eyes lit up with a combination of confidence, confusion, and contentment.

"I don't know what I'm doing, dude" he said with a smile. "Me neither, but let's do it anyways." I replied, clutching his hand in mine awkwardly.

Needless to say, he was free. And it was the start of the most beautiful thing I've experienced.

That “friend made anew” is mine to this day, and though we've had our tiffs about little things and big things and things in between, this new friend is the best thing that's ever happened to me. Though neither one of us are perfect to any extent, we can both find some kind of assurance in each other. To this day, he is my rock—and I would never, in my life, have it any other way.

 Now, you know better than anyone else we weren’t met with immediate approval. In fact, we were met my nothing but the opposite. My mom politely said hi to you, yet I was prompted to break up with you many, many times. But somehow, I knew that you were the right decision to make.

 Not only that, they weren’t the only people who thought we were absolutely ridiculous for doing what we doing– you remember better than anyone where our joke about “counting down the Picoseconds we’ve been together for came from.”

 Nevertheless, you were everything. You were everything I ever wanted and you still are to this day. I’m proud of us for knowing that what we have is not worth giving up for anybody else. I’m proud of us enduring the negative comments, tarot card readings saying we are only going to last two weeks, and surprised looks that either one of us have a significant other. Most of all, I’m proud of us for knowing that we both have something that is absolutely not worth losing.