This essay earned an Honorable Mention in the 2025 Huaxia Writing Competition.

Birthday cards have always been hard for me to write. In total, I’ve written eight birthday cards to you. Eight long years of friendship. You’ve kept all of them, locked away in a small box under your bed that you open when you feel sad. Sometimes, when I go to your house, we read them together, seeing all the things that we thought were important to write back then. Every so often, when we ride our bikes along our town, I remember the times that we used to have, back when we were kids without a care in the world. Now, we’re almost high schoolers, but still able to laugh with the same childishness that only we can bring out in each other.

I remember the first birthday we shared. I remember how in first grade, you came in at the beginning of the year, and how I was paired up with you with our names at the back of the line. I remember how scared I was to talk to the new kid, and then how I realized that you weren’t so bad. I was the first friend you made in our school, and I was one of the two friends you invited to your house that day when you turned seven. I remember the pictures we took that day, probably lost in my attic somewhere, yet the memories we made will never be lost.

I remember our third birthday together, the year your little sister was born. I still remember how she seemed so young, so small, and fragile. It was the first time I had ever held a baby. That year was also the year were COVID happened. No more going to your house, no more hanging out on the school playground. But your birthday was still magical, as we spent hours on calls playing video games until our parents yelled at us to get off our screens. I will always cherish those moments together.

I remember our fifth birthday together, the year we graduated from elementary school. At that time, it seemed like such a big achievement. Such a big shift going into middle school. We were getting older. But we were still able to laugh with each other, swing on the swings at the playground, and high-five each other when our names were called to receive our graduation shirts. I look back on that birthday fondly, for it marked a passage of time, but also the consistency of our friendship. It reminded me that no matter what, I would always have you.

I remember my sixth birthday, the first time I had a proper celebration. I had always celebrated it on your birthday, as our birthdays were only five days away. But I remember when we went to my house, and you had bought this giant stuffed animal for me. I remember how you celebrated my birthday with me at my house, with my family. As if you were a part of my family. I still sleep with that stuffed animal on my bed.

I remember our seventh birthday together. That year, we went to sleepaway camp together in China, in a foreign country away from our families. I remember when I had a fever and didn’t want to do anything, and you bought food for me even though I said I didn’t want it. I remember how you would sleep in, and it was a nightmare getting you to wake up. I remember the mountain that I climbed in under 30 minutes, whereas you enjoyed the view and took two hours. I look back on the nights that we would share in our hotel room, just talking to each other until we couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore.

I remember our eighth birthday, the year that we graduated from middle school. I think of the calls that we’ve shared, staying up until midnight talking about the future: what we would do in high school, what classes we would take, what worries we had. For our eighth birthday, we spent it with our best friends. The whole day was a joy, walking up and down the mall, going to your house, playing with your dog. I remember how I never wanted this to end.

And I look forward to our ninth birthday together. Next year, we will be freshmen. We will no longer be in the same classes with the same friends. We might not talk to each other for months. But I know that even if I don’t see you in school or if we don’t share the same teachers, you will still be my best friend. So I am not worried about next year. Since I know you will always be next to me.

I wonder how different my life would have been without you. I wonder what would have happened if you were never in my class in first grade. I wonder who I would be if I had never met you. But most of all, I am grateful to you. I am grateful for the time we shared, and I am grateful for the future we have. I hope that we will always count on each other. I hope that you will never forget me. I hope we have even more years of friendship in the future. I hope that on every birthday, you will remember me as your friend. And I hope that you know how much you mean to me.

To more birthdays to come,

Katelyn Wang