Illustration/ Allegory design writing / Cover design
As she walks to her college, thinking she’s got this and can seize the day, her best friend from childhood visits her, unannounced, uninvited. They have been best friends since she started school, sharing a very hate-love relationship. She has tried to cut them off multiple times, but they never seem to leave her. Sometimes, they are her inspiration, and at other times, her biggest obstacle. Through thick and thin, they have always been there.
Sometimes she believes she’s finally learned to live without them, that she has rid herself of their influence. Still, there they are, constantly visiting her unannounced, uninvited. Their power and influence shape her so thoroughly that she doesn’t know how to live without them. She’s gotten so used to their presence that she doesn’t even remember why they became friends in the first place.
As she made her way through life, her first heartbreak, her first rejection, her first everything, there they were, ready with an “I told you so.” When she felt unloved by her parents and struggled to win any kind of affection or approval, they whispered that her parents loved their golden elder brother more than her. For some reason, even against the facts, she believed them. After all, they are her childhood best friend.
Even as she made great friends in high school and college, whenever she was hurt, they told her it was all her fault and she should have known better. Don’t get me wrong, her other real friends were amazing and supportive, but this friend from childhood was her one constant, always there, always tight.
Every little hiccup with someone, every time she overthought, they convinced her the other person had a vendetta and hated her forever. When a high school teacher told her she wouldn’t make it through, they agreed the teachers were right, because teachers know better. But that didn’t sit well with her. So, out of spite, she set out to prove them wrong, and she did. Yet, even then, they insisted she just got lucky, and she believed it.
Eventually, she grew tired of her friend and resolved to cut them off. She went to therapy, seeking guidance to finally set boundaries. It was super hard, separating from a best friend from childhood is never easy, but she was tired of being pulled down. Proving them wrong every time drained her. Different therapists and therapies helped her silence them for a while, but they always crept back. Persistent, consistent, no matter how strongly she tried to cut them off, they created obstacles.
They told her everyone she knew hated her and secretly wished for her downfall. No one wanted to be her friend except for the few she had. When others asked why she kept listening and letting them drag her down, she had no answer. She was simply used to their presence.
Eventually, she learned not to trust them blindly, to look at the facts. Sometimes, they were right; it wasn’t always wise to ignore them completely. She learned not to dismiss them outright, but to live alongside them, to co-exist.
So, as she walks to her college, thinking she’s got this and can seize the day, her best friend from childhood visits her, unannounced, uninvited. She simply says hi and continues with her life.
Instructed by Zeina Abi Assy