My hero never did anything great. She never outwitted Nazis, never fought cancer, never made it into history books—but that doesn’t mean she isn’t a hero. Though I love my family more than the world and respect my teachers’ abilities to guide me through knowledge, my hero is, and always will be, my best friend.

For what is a hero? Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines it as “one who shows great courage,” and my friend certainly does. She is never afraid of people’s opinions, never afraid not to ‘fit in.’ Truth be told, when I met her last year in band class, I though she was the most boring person I had ever met. I soon found out just how far I was from the truth. To most people, she appears shy and unassuming, but not because she is worried about what other people might think of her, but because she knows what is expected of her in certain situations and knows enough to live up to it. No matter what, any decisions my friend makes are always 100% her own.

Through thick and thin, we are always together. When I feel particularly angry or scared, I know I can call her to rant about it. I can talk about how awful my math teacher is when she doesn’t have the same one, and she’ll understand. I can worry out loud about a dance audition or competition, and she’ll listen even when I become completely incoherent. I can only hope she thinks the same of me.

And have you ever wondered how carefully we must censor every word we say, in case we offend some clueless individual? Not between my friend and me. With her, I know that whatever we say to each other is never meant to hurt, perhaps to tease, but never really in anger. We can joke about without censoring every word that leaves our mouths, and for that I can never repay her. The best part is that she instinctively knows when things get serious, as I try to do for her. I can rely on her for an honest opinion, or even just a good laugh, depending on both our moods.

She is not the person I see the most of in my life, but the one whose company I crave the most. As predictably steady as the rising sun, yet still as exciting as crashing ocean waves, we are perfect for each other. I don’t believe in destiny, yet I still find it hard to conceive that we ‘just happened’ to meet each other, and yet get along so well.
My friend is one that I sincerely hope to keep through high school, and maybe even further. Her name is Keerthana.