People always say that everyone you meet, you meet for a reason, that each person you come across teaches you something new, but I don’t think I had become conscious of this until I met Maddie Caswell. I could tell the full story of how we met, all my favorite memories I share with her that double as my favorite memories of all time, or the two long years I spent consecutively by her side, but that’s not what I want to focus on in this writing.

I want to share with everyone the beauty of what Maddie taught me just by being herself and explain what it’s like to find a best friend. It’s hard to explain this in depth without seeming crazy or dependent on her but let me assure you that having her come into my life made me more independent and self-aware than I ever have.

Maddie and I from the beginning clicked like I never had with anyone. She made me instantly comfortable and we mutually made it known from the start that whatever the other needed wed supply. If we needed a laugh, wed laugh HARD. If we needed to cry, we sob and punch pillows, and pace around the whole house throwing a fit (yes all of these have happened) and if we needed to sit in silence but have company, well shit that’s what we’re best at. But the most important thing is whatever we needed, we didn’t leave each other to do it alone. now I know I said I wouldn’t share stories however I’d like to provide examples of how important it was for me to have found Maddie at the time I did. Beginning of the junior year I hit the roughest patch of my life. I got so depressed that I cut off every single one of my friends and would rather sit inside my room all day and all night then see anyone. and no matter how many times I didn’t text back or how much of a bitch I was acting like that day, Maddie would not let me sit inside and be sad by myself, some days it was borderline annoying how much Maddie was making me do. Go on photo shoots, go out to dinner, even if we did just sit in my room watching youtube for three days straight, she did it with me cause she knew that if she didn’t id be doing it alone.

At the time I didn’t realize it but she was changing me into such a stronger version of myself. instead of looking back at one of the most challenging times in my life mentally and thinking, damn that sucks, I look back and see all the photos me and Maddie took that reminded me if my self-worth, all the restaurants we went to that became out spots and hold so many memories and all the youtube videos that kick-started our inside jokes and had us laughing for days on end.

I remember specifically one day at school I had a massive, and I mean massive, panic attack. I could hardly breathe, loud noises made me jump, and the number of people around me and the stress of having to go into class in that state was haunting me. I stepped outside and with one, two-minute call to Maddie I had calmed down completely and within 15 minutes of the call I was called out of class early and I go outside to see Maddie’s blue Mazda waiting for me. she dropped everything she was doing to come and get me and I specifically remember at that moment being thrown off by how nice she was being to me, I had never had anyone in my life be so willing to be my friend.

In my head that day I subconsciously decided that I owed her forever for how much she had done in the short time I had known her, and I knew that she was sticking around for a while. SEE this is my favorite part about getting the opportunity to be friends with such an awesome human, I could be in the shittiest of shitty situations, thinking my day couldn’t get worse and somehow with one phone call to her, by the end of the day id be going to bed laughing thinking about how it was the best day ever.

Id like to think I’ve done my best to be the person Maddie needs in her worst states like she has been for me.

And I know what you’re thinking, how odd it is to talk about a friendship like this, but I can only hope that one day you can find someone who makes you the best version of yourself and who you can look back and cherish the way I do with my time with her.

I feel bad for people who don’t get to know Maddie and to watch her do all the awesome shit she does. I mean really, she is a badassssss. Maddie is the textbook perfect human and I don’t think I could ever wrap my head around how awesome she is AND THIS BITCH TRULY DOESNT EVEN KNOW IT.

Shes hands down the most passionate person I’ve ever come across when she sets her mind to something, I mean seriously there’s no talking her out of it. One example is when Maddie starts a video edit, be prepared for three hours of her completely tuning you out and putting all her focus into that one-minute long video, pausing every once in a while to show off the ten second she had just added because of how proud she is, and rightfully so, her ability to capture moments through video and make anyone watching it feel the way the people in the video did at that exact moment is beyond me (also a perk of having a Maddie, you automatically have the most popping Instagram feed)

Shes also so naturally funny, the quick-witted comments and her ability to come up with the most outstandingly punny Instagram captions is beyond me.

Maddie has mastered the art of communication skills and has taught me so much about problem-solving and maturely walking through things, before Maddie I was quick to instigate and go into arguments with guns loaded, but the reason me and Maddie have lasted so long regardless of distance or time zones is our NOW mutual ability to communicate. we never WANT to argue and truly we never do, i have never once in my life been mad at her. Anytime one of us has anything wrong we do a really good job of explaining it maturely while the other, instead of getting mad, does a really good job of being empathetic and open-minded, always willing to accept fault and change for the better. there really is no argument big enough to make us split up and that is one thing I will always stand by. she could kill my dog and we’d find a way to work it out.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY she’s genuinely a good human being. Maddie doesn’t spill secrets or lie, she doesn’t sneak around or act differently when other people are around, she’s so openminded and so willing to try new things, and everyone she meets instantly loves her just cause shes fucking awesome. She supports me in everything I do and just genuinely wants what’s best for me which is something I’ve never felt as thoroughly and as consistently as I have with her.

She makes me a better version of myself.

I could seriously go on about Maddie and everything that makes her annoyingly perfect but frankly, it’s making me feel like trash.

Someone once told me that maybe I should take a step away from Maddie because from the outside looking in, I seem to be like her shadow, like an accessory to all that is her, and to that I say, thank god.

I would rather be “Maddie’s best friend” then “Kaiden” if that means I get to keep all that shes taught me and all the memories we share.

It’s been such an honor being her shadow, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything… not even a picture with billy ray cyrus, AND THAT’S SAYING A LOT

AND BECAUSE YOU ARE THE MOST SUPPORTIVE PERSON IN MY LIFE AND I KNOW YOU READ ALL OF THESE, thank you, Maddie, I don’t say it NEARLY enough, but thank you.

hopefully, now everyone will understand why I’m always posting her dumb ass and why even after a year im still crying over her being in texas, i just got really lucky and I’m starting to realize it a little too late.

appreciate the important people in your life while your making the memories, be mindful Of happiness when you have it, and hold onto the lessons the people in your life have taught you.

Watch some dumb videos of me and my buddy HERE