When I was living in Egypt, I would visit New York during the summers the minute AUC let out. I would take the 12 hour direct flight, crying babies and all, to arrive in JFK early, EARLY in the morning. My mother or my brother would pick me up and on the way home we'd stop by my father's job so I could surprise him (we have a habit in our family not to tell each other when we're coming to visit...we just show up). A drive to McDonald's drive-through for some pancakes and hash browns would complete the ritual.

The minute I got home the only thing I wanted to do was take a nap. I knew it would be an impossible feat because the minute my best friend caught whiff of my presence in the country, she would make her way towards my house. Unable to keep my eyes open, I'd jump into bed and pray that I'd get at least thirty minutes of slumber. Sometimes I'd be lucky and get a decent amount of sleep but I'd always be awoken the same way; she would creep into my room, sit on my bed, and whisper "wakey, wakey". I HATE being hungry, and I HATE waking up. I'd try to throw her out of the room, but she wouldn't move off the bed until my eyes were open and I looked like I was halfway up.

I met my best friend when I was 16. We both attended the same high school and became friends rather quickly.

I was incredibly jealous of her when we first met. She's drop-dead gorgeous; tall, slender, and eyes the color of green that doesn't exist in nature. The closest celebrity she resembles, just to paint a mental picture in your head, is Nicole Kidman.

But that's not why I was jealous. The guy that was charming me was apparently trying to charm her (and a batch of other girls) at the same time time. He had already ensnared me and when I saw him attempt to flirt with her it nearly drove me mad. I say attempt because he got NOWHERE with her. I had awful taste in men, to be explored later on. She, at that age, had much more sophisticated taste.

One day, asshole David came to school with an injured bird in his palm that he had found out by the school gates. He was showing it to Francy outside class when I walked by. It was the first time she paid him any kind of attention. She had, and still has, an incredible love for animals. When she had to give her dog Kiki up for adoption a couple of years ago she cried longer and harder than any spurned love affair she ever had.

As I went to say hi to asshole David, he introduced me to Francy. We said hello and went our way. A couple of days later we happened to walk out of school at the same time and took our journey home together. She gave me her number and told me to call her, which I never did. A week later she yelled at me for not calling and made me promise to call her over the weekend.

It's been history since.

When I graduated college I was packed off to Egypt and was separated from her for the first time. It was awful. I missed her enormously and waited anxiously for the summers so we could hang out again. Last year she packed herself off to Taiwan to start a new journey in life. We haven't seen each other since December.

I hate it. Her dream has always been to live abroad and write her book and so I suppose it's okay that she's gone. But it doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.

Today is her 30th birthday and although she thinks 30 is old, I'm here to tell her that this is the beginning of an amazing new chapter in life!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANCY!