Since I was young, I've always been drawn to cameras. Growing up as an only child for the first three years of my life, although brief, made way for lots of pictures, videos, and documented evidence of what I like to refer to as my "Princess Years". Where there was a camera, I was quickly to be found standing in front of it - no matter what or who it was pointed at. I was the original photobomber, if you will, hopping into everyone's photographs to have my time in the spotlight. So it was no surprise when this picture resurfaced six years ago, hidden in the back of a kitchen junk drawer buried by random dollar bills, cobalt blue 5 chewing gum, and 13 different writing utensils.
The picture was taken on a footbridge in the park around the corner from my house in New Jersey. I don't think the bridge stands anymore. The picture screams of the late 90s. But it could've been early 2000. Keara is in a shirt similar to mine but she's in faded jeans and while her hair is perfectly tied up at the nape of her neck, mine resembles that of someone just rolling out of bed. My matching pink pants and polka dot shirt are a sure sign I didn't dress myself that day. If I had, the little blonde chubster would've been in an orange shirt with purple striped shorts and mismatched socks that would've probably been two different shades of green. But nonetheless, I was rocking a classic Garanimals outfit and I'm glad I was because the moment this picture captured is one of my most cherished memories. Although, I totally would've rocked the orange-purple-green combo.
Keara's mom is the middle, standing posed and camera ready while Keara is crouched down, holding her hand, and looking to her left to see who the loud footsteps running up behind her were coming from. Hint: they were my loud footsteps running up behind her. I took off from my parents and I was determined to get in this photo with these strangers.
We may have been 3 years old in this picture, maybe a little younger. When this picture was taken, none of us knew that we would officially meet each other in kindergarten two years later and call one another "best friend" for the two decades following. We didn't know we would experience childhood together, sports, holidays, other friends, middle school, brothers, boyfriends, high school, breakups, fights, vacations, birthdays, graduations, the Florida Keys, college, all of it. All of it for the last almost 20 years, we've done it side-by-side. No one knew that when this picture was taken, we'd each become the sixth member of each other's families. We didn't know that it would eventually be weird if we hadn't seen one another in a few days. Nobody thought all four of our parents would be sitting around a table at my brother's high school graduation party drinking, laughing, and talking about the best moments of Live PD. After all, when this picture was taken, everyone was a stranger. A stranger with a camera. Two strangers getting their picture taken to add to their family photo album. A stranger with tangled blonde hair and hot pink pants invading this private family moment. Two strangers who, before they ever knew it, would become attached at the hips for as long as they will have each other.
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