That summer is one I won't forget.
We spent countless hours together,
forever losing track of time.
Keeping the neighbors up,
we would lie in the pool laughing until we felt sick to our stomachs--
then we'd continue to laugh for another ten minutes.
Nights turned into mornings
as we sat by the lake talking about our future.
Way too much of our paychecks were spent at Sonic
but we didn't care.
There were thousands of failed attempts to cross things off our bucket list
but we had fun anyway.
Our days were filled with the smell of chlorine, tanning lotion, and lemonade,
Taylor Swift’s lyrics and playground swings occupied our nights.

We learned about heartbreak that summer.
After that, our nights were spent lying on kleenex covered floors,
a constant loop of Mayday Parade playing.
Our smiles and laughter faded,
being replaced with emotionless stares.
When we had no more tears to cry,
thats when we learned that life goes on.
Our friendships were more important that any boy would ever be.

We stargazed a lot that summer.
Something very comforting was found in the twinkling sky.
Millions of miles separated us and those burning balls of hydrogen and helium,
but I swear we could feel their warmth.
While we were practically non-existent to them,
the stars were the glue holding our summer together.
Our deepest secrets spewed out of our mouths,
dancing their way up into the humid atmosphere.

We learned to let go that summer.
Negativity had no place in our lives.
Our insecurities quickly faded.
Not everything was going to go our way,
but we learned to embrace the changes.
We had eachother, and thats all we needed.

When I look up at the light-stained night sky,
memories of that summer come flooding back.
I find myself lost in a sea of sleepless nights,
buckled in the car for seemingly endless drives,
buried deep in our hopes and dreams.
I'm reminded that some things happen for a reason;
that we learned to accept.
Fortunately if you're surrounded by the right people,
there's nothing to worry about.

That summer we taught each other how to be fearless.