This is a picture of my hand from the best weekend ever, spent with my best friends ever. We went to a Beyoncé concert (the pink wristband), and then the next day we went to the Museum of Natural History (the dino-foot stamp). —Sarah S.
I’ve had a group of close Twitter friends for about two years now. One of them invited me and another of us to a three-week Shakespeare camp. A few days into camp, we got to see a performance of Macbeth. The actors had a meet-and-greet afterwards, and I asked one particularly attractive actor to sign my cookie. Suddenly, he jumped up and took a bite out of it. Right before bedtime, my friends and I went into the dorm and TOTALLY UN-CREEPILY each ate part of the cookie. —Bethany
My best friend got me this bracelet engraved with our favorite Arcade Fire lyric, and I wear it every day! —Sophie L.
From Jay. —Caitlin K.
My boyfriend/best friend got me Frida Kahlo temporary tattoos when he was in Minnesota. Random, but great nonetheless. —Emma S.
From Sophia and Grace.
This is a bracelet that a person I had just met made for me. I brought cookies to a meet-up for YouTube, and she made me this bracelet as a thank you. It was so kind and sweet and thoughtful—what was loveliest was that it made me feel seen. It makes me so happy to wear it! She’s lovely and colorful, just like the bracelet. —Anna H.
My best friend Madeline made this for me as a birthday present when I turned 18, and it’s hanging over my bed in my dorm room right now <3 —Hannah B.
Amy and I share a passion for cinnamon Trident gum, and we always had it in class while I was doing an exchange in America. Now I’m back in Germany, and we don’t have any cinnamon gum here. Amy sent me this “burns like hell” gum in a care package, and just seeing it made me tear up. Now every time I eat a piece of gum, I think about our friendship and how much I miss her. —Maggie
My best friend and I watched the entire Buffy series together. We each have a Buffy bracelet to commemorate not only our forever-friendship, but also a show that means the world to us :) —Jayson F.
From Aida M.
Impromptu matching $13 tattoos on Friday the 13th. —Hannah G.
From Mab U.
From Rebecca P.
This is a ring that used to be a vintage spoon. A really close friend got it for me before he moved away :) —Anna
The outside of a card I gave my friend for her birthday…
… and the inside. —Celia
This is a letter and a drawing made by my dear pal Clare. I received them a couple months before she (and Shriya, my other dear pal) came to visit me in Oxford, U.K. on New Year’s Eve 2013. —Olivia A.
From Jillian O.
My bestie Mallory made this for my birthday when we were in 7th grade. We bonded over our love of the TV show Psych (we cried together when it got cancelled last year). Quotes from the show have kind of become our thing now, since no one we know really watches it and obsesses over it like we do. —Anne N.
One of my best friends made this for me over the summer. We all spent a lot of time together before we went off to different sixth forms, and I miss them all the time. —Ray S.
I just moved 1,200 miles away from home to a city where I don’t know anyone and I don’t speak the language. When I left, my best friend Charli gave me this card. I put it on my bookshelf when I got here, so I could see it when I wake up in the morning, and it always makes me feel better. Even though I’m so far away, I know that we’re still as good friends as we ever were. —Ally
As we grow older we learn more about ourselves, what we like, and, most importantly, WHO we want to spend our time with. I can now proudly announce that I am friends with an exclusive bunch of great human beings at the tender and almost-accomplished age of 16 ;-) This picture (and the one that follows it) shows us reunited to celebrate my friend Caro’s birthday. We marbled paper, ate vegan chocolate and crumble, and took photographs while picnicking and thinking philosophical thoughts. —Dora C.
This book (Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions) was given to me by my BFF Skylar for my birthday. A week before, ze told me that ze gives Kurt Vonnegut books to people ze cares about the most in this world, since Kurt Vonnegut is zirs favorite author. I am so grateful for Skylar’s friendship. —Dija M.
Two of my best friends from secondary school and I all went to different sixth-form colleges, but we all love each other the same amount and see each other as much as we can. In school, none of us had a very good time. We felt like we weren’t understood and that we didn’t fit in, but we had each other and that was great. This is a card they got me for my 16th birthday, and I love it so much. Being 16 meant a lot for us because it felt like the start of us growing up and beginning to break free from school. I love that they believe so much in me, and of course I will never forget them. —Eibhlin J.
Tavi’s letter about the intensity and magic of best-friendship made me think about meeting my own best friends in first-year university residence, aka the perfect location for all-consuming friendship to grow. Living with 24 other teenage girls, all away from home for the first time, means that you share experiences with each other that you think nobody else could possibly understand (and probably, nobody else could).
After living together for a year, one of my best friends moved to a different province, and we decided to get matching rings to symbolize our eternal love for one another. (They’re tied into bows to represent how we’re tied together forever, and because we’re punny, we say “Forget me knot” a lot.) My friend posted this photo on Instagram with the following caption: When you feel the fear of not knowing where life is taking you, remember the people that tether you to the ground and the love that ties you all together, no matter where you go or how scattered you become. Your heart is so much bigger than the world. That is the definition of friendship and family. —Erika R.My best friend made this mix CD for me for my 15th birthday and I love her for it. —Celia S.
These are letters my best friend, Josie, wrote to me when we were in middle school…
… and this is a poem she wrote to me after she moved. —Emma W.
From Olivia N.
This is a piece of fake vine from the set of The Great Gatsby. Our school holds sports where it was filmed, and my friend smuggled scissors in just to cut a piece off for us. —Shirley D.
When my best friend Ana and I are together, we collage a lot. Here’s a picture of my journal (on the left) and her journal (on the right). —Julia P.
A card my best friend Carolyn (aka Ca) made for my 15th birthday, filled with our inside jokes/secrets. —Mary Kate
This starry bangle was given to me by a young Burmese girl when I went to Myanmar last year. Before the trip, I was 10000% sure I wasn’t going to make any friends and that I’d be “that loner” who didn’t have a roommate (all my friends paired up to go on different trips, and I became the odd one out), but I was surprised in the best possible way.
When this isn’t on my wrist, it’s suspended on a string and hanging on my wall. Sometimes I look at it and feel a pang in my chest. It’s a reminder of an experience that proved to me that you can never know what to expect, and just because you’re not with your closest friends doesn’t mean you can’t make new ones and have an equally fun and fulfilling time.
Oh and, the coolest part: It glows in the dark. —Jane C.This is a token of my best-friendship with Laney, the sweetest, coolest person I know. I met her freshman year of high school in science class, where we both sat down at the same lab table. On the table was a paperclip, which I unfolded into a big S and said, “Look, S for Spongebob.” I was expecting this comment to get a pity-laugh at best, but Laney grinned and flipped the paper clip over. “Or S for Sandy!” she said. Not only did she know the exact episode of Spongebob I was referencing, but she continued the joke! I knew from that moment on that we were going to be friends.
Now we’re both sophomores at different colleges, and while we don’t have that original paperclip, we send this one back and forth to each other in our letters as a reminder of how far our friendship has come. —Lindsey O.Bracelets from dear, dear Gaia, and a ring from lovely Emily that I wear every day. —Anjali M.
My best friend’s name is Patrick, and he gave me the record you see in this photo (Jazz Spectrum Vol 1., by Ella Fitzgerald). He also gave me my first record player, which is the one pictured.
Now every time we see a record that we think the other will like, we take a picture of it and send it with the price and where to find it. It’s a trend for us that lets us know we’re always thinking of one another, and that basically cemented in our minds that we’re bound to be friends for a looooong time. —Emma N.My friend made me a keyring of laminated cards of in-jokes and quotes from our favorite TV shows. —Jade
From Adelaide J.
This is a picture of a card my best friend Madi gave me last year on my 15th birthday. It’s laced with our inside jokes, half of which I can’t actually remember but still make me laugh. My favorite, “And hey, your hips never lie,” is basically the compliment of the century. —Courtney
Mixtapes from Jess. —Molly K.
This is a book my best friend Liz filled out completely for my 16th birthday. It has photos from when we were about five to the present; quotes, ramblings, Photoshopped catchphrases; and a whole array of awesomeness. There are tickets from movies we’ve seen together, a quotes page dedicated to random fandom stuff, and our collection of Harry Potter character playing cards from a coloring book for the fifth movie! It is my absolute favorite thing and totally precious to me! —Lucie
From Emilie and Leah in Canada and the United States, respectively.
14 Comments
this is beautiful.
Yay! My Buffy best friend bracelet made the list! A beautiful, heart warming list if I do say so myself. :)
Thanks for contributing to that beauty + heart-warmth, Jayson <3
The pleasure was all mine! A screen shot of my memento being featured in one of my favorite publications EVER is like a whole other beautiful memento for me and my friend to share. ^__^
this makes me feel so warm inside <3
man, one of the last one just reminded me of this book i filled for my best friend s. when she turned 17, and sent to her across the ocean. glad to see i’m not the only one :)
Aww this is actually so gorgeous!
the best things ever!!<3
aw man im sad i forgot to submit something for this! such a lovely gallery, though ♡
Hey, I was wondering if anyone knows of any Rookie Meet-ups in Melbourne soon?
If there isn’t any how do they get organised?
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god damm this is so cute, it reminds me of the little gifts me and my freinds make for each other, i’ve bought the ginger spice of our group a geri halliwell badge from a charity shop to give to her when i go up to see her in london and help her pack to come home for chirstmas
Yay mine was included!! Love everyone’s stuff, wish I took a more artsy pic though instead of just holding the card in front of my webcam….
This warms my heart xxx
I literally just saw this omg. Ca + MK 4ever