An Ode to our Friends - Old, New and You

Some friendships begin without warning: on a school bench, during roll call, or even as early as nursery. Others arrive quietly, slipping into our lives during the most unexpected chapters. And then, there are those rare few: the ones that stay, through the awkward phases, the glow-ups, the heartbreaks, the mess, and the magic.

This is our love letter to all of you.

We want to begin at the very beginning: with our school friends.

The ones who taught us what friendship even meant, before we had the words to describe it. You saw every version of us. The pencil box we guarded like treasure. The slam books you filled with dreams and doodles. The secrets whispered between lunch breaks. Our annual day performances. Our failure in school test. Punishment from teachers for laughing loudly on our secret jokes. Our first crushes. Our first heartbreaks. Our wild ambitions. Our cringey email IDs. You stayed. You promised not to tell our secrets to anyone, and you never did. You reminded us what loyalty looked like: in its purest, most innocent form. A big Thank you to you all!

Then college happened. A bigger world, a different city, harder choices, longer nights.
We grew, stretched, stumbled. And there you were: our college friends, holding up a mirror to who we were becoming.

We want to thank those beautiful souls who taught us resilience when we wanted to give up. We learned independence from you when we missed home and you made us feel like home in your friendship, and we also learned responsibility from you (even if it meant dragging each other to 8 AM lectures). We’re forever grateful. Our stars were truly aligned when we found you.

And then came London. A new city. New country. New everything.
We packed up our lives and landed into unknown streets, gray skies, and the coldness of unfamiliarity. But soon: amidst the chaos of LSE, the library stress, the overpriced sandwiches, the homesickness, we found you. You, who became our family abroad.

You shared your wisdom and experiences and made us realize we are similar even if we grew up in different environment.

You shared your home made recipes to get rid of the cold in the foreign land.

When lectures and dissertation felt impossible, you panicked with us letting us know we are all in this together and we will figure things out.
You sat beside us in silence when words weren’t enough.

You helped us carry the weight of being “okay” in a new world.
You reminded us that belonging isn’t about place: it’s about people.

You are simply the best!

Later when work life arrived and just when we thought maybe friendship had to take a backseat, there you were again. Our friendships developed over coffee machines, project deadlines, and those “this meeting could’ve been an email” glances. Some of you came into our lives randomly through chance introductions, shared cabs, and networking events that actually worked. And somehow, you stayed. You showed us that connection doesn’t always need years to grow roots. Sometimes, it just takes a genuine “How are you, really?” And a shared meme at 2 AM. We felt home away from home.

And now, to you: our lovely Between Friends family.
You, who found us through a link or a story or maybe just a feeling (or maybe when we sent you that first Instagram message to connect with us).
You, who read what we wrote and somehow saw a piece of your own journey in it.
You, who responded with warmth, with laughter, with support, with love.

You didn’t just subscribe to a newsletter. You gave our dream wings. What started as two sisters with reflections to share, turned into a shared space full of heart. Your kind replies, forwarded newsletters, surprise DMs, and just being here: it means more than words can say. Thank you everyone!

We were fortunate enough to gather friendship over our life journey from incredible people around us. And we just want to say:
Thank you for being part of ours. Thank you for reminding us that friendship isn’t just who we grew up with: it’s also who grows with us.

So here’s to all of you:
From slam book entries to salary slips,
From college mess to overseas messes,
From first crushes to quarter-life crises,
From silly fights to soul-deep loyalty.

This friendship is just the beginning and a soft promise: to keep showing up,
With stories, reflections, recommendations, memes, memories, and a whole lot of love.

Wishing you all a very Happy Friendship’s Day!

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Off Key, Still Me