Elijah and I are still great friends now and probably will be forever. He is like my big brother and basically a part of my family. He is a sweet, kind, and funny person and always knows how to make me smile. He has definitely changed my life for the better. Elijah has always been there for me even when he did not know it. Sometimes when there is an age gap, even if it is a small one, in a friendship it affects how the relationship works. In our case, the one year age difference does not affect us at all, if anything it made the relationship stronger. Elijah provides me with advice on the things that he has experienced in his life that I may run into in the upcoming year. We used to spend every summer together, making memories that we would keep with us until the day we die.

We have finally reached the entrance to Spring Lake. I am so excited but I also am nervous because I am not the best swimmer. I look to my left and I see my best friend with his face pressed up against the window as if he is going to jump out of the car. The car finally stops, he whips his head around, and we smile at each other. We jump out of the car to go get the beach toys. I take a look at the toys in the trunk and I sigh. “I am too old for all of these toys” I think to myself. Elijah sees the disappointed look on my face and points to the car parked behind him. I turn to see who it is and his two little cousins jump out and run right to the toys, laughing with delight. We grab as many toys as we can carry, along with our own bags and towels and head to the entrance to the beach.

We reach the entrance and wait for his mom and aunt to pay to get in. Then we head over to pick a perfect spot to sit and relax. We set our towels and bags down and we immediately run over to the water. I jump out because the water is way too cold. He does not want to be rude so he gets out too and we try to think of something to do. He grabs a bucket and shovel and says, “Why don’t you bury me in sand? It will be fun!” At first we dig a little hole for him to sit in so it does not take too long to do. He sits down and we start to cover him in sand. I go and put on a shirt over my bathing suit so I do not get a sun burn and continue burying him with sand. We finally reach his stomach and decide to stop because it is taking too long. We turn around to see that his mom is taking pictures of us. He tells me to go and get some water to wash away the sand. I come back with a big bucket of water and pour it all over him while he tries not to get the sand in his eyes. He stops me when I am halfway through rinsing him off and tries to stand up. He gets out of the sand and goes into the water to finish rinsing himself off before we go to the arcade.This was one of those times that our bond truly showed through but we were too young to realize it. Now that I look back on it, I can see that this was an important memory for us because it was my first time at Spring Lake and my first “going away trip” with a friend. To this day we still remember that memory-filled summer because it was the last one we spent together at his house. We did not know that at the time, but I am glad that it ended on a happy note. Now we have a memory to talk about when we see each other every week. I will hold onto this memory as long as my mind allows and I know he probably will too.