It’s funny how a movie you grow up with makes you think about your best friend and the greatest moments of your life.
I’m a very lucky girl, I met my BFF at age 2. I remember our toddler moments, rom diapers, Go‑Gurt, Goldfish crackers and Cougar Mountain Zoo to the “we’re so mature now” phase, which was really just pumpkin patches, swimming pools, summer vacation, sleepovers, a Macklemore concert, and makeup classes at Sephora. Those things made us feel like we could rule the world.
In the spirit of “Toy Story 5,” following are the misadventures my BFF and I have collected over the years.
First hugs
Being toddlers together was epic: we went to the same preschool and spent our days escaping naptime, getting more paint in our clothes than on the canvas, and giving each other long goodbye hugs at the door that only broke apart after our tiny vocal protests.
Before we changed schools, our playdates were energetic and messy. There were soggy diapers under oversized T‑shirts (which I probably shouldn’t mention, because she does have a reputation to uphold) and the two of us would run around Robinswood Park with mooshy crackers, ready to feed every duck that crossed our path. We’d stand there in total awe as they waddled toward us like we were offering gourmet crumbs.
We headed to different elementary schools. But when the season of pumpkin patches at Remlinger Farms came, we always picked the biggest pumpkins so our dads could Hulk-haul them around in a wheelbarrow while our moms stayed safely at the edge, avoiding stepping into a messy mix of smashed squash and slippery mud. We spent every Thanksgiving together, popping holiday crackers so we could be paper‑crowned — dinner queens, catching up like we hadn’t seen each other in years. After dinner, her dad would put on “Just Dance,” hoping we’d get “our wiggles out” for the adults to finally get some sleep.
Growing up together (Photo courtesy
Isabella Akalin)
No sleep
A special mention about our sleepovers. We celebrated my 10th and 13th birthdays with them, and she celebrated her 15th the same way. Sleepovers were, well, not sleepovers. We ate ridiculous amounts of popcorn, candy, and juice, often mixing it with cake, hot chocolate, ice cream, cookies, pizza, and cupcakes. I still don’t know why all that junk never came back up. There were games, pillowcase decorating, karaoke, painting, and a movie, of course. But my BFF had the best game: who can stay up the latest. We always lost count around 4 a.m., either because we were sleepwalking or because we fell asleep mid‑competition and no one noticed.
‘Go, go, go!’
One of my favorite memories from middle school and all the way into high school was our swim team competitions. Swim meets were amazing, not because we loved sitting around for over two hours just to swim for one minute, but because we treated the whole thing like a social festival. We grabbed food‑truck dinner and chatted.
We were completely unaware of what was happening in the actual swimmeet until our parents suddenly yelled, “Your turn, go go go!” and we’d have to check our arms, covered in permanent marker scribbles, to figure out which mystery stroke we were supposed to swim. Those were the best summer memories, far better than the exercise, which mostly existed to burn off all the calories we ate while waiting.
Growing up with her was festive and funny. She’s about six months older than me, and I remember the first time she drove over to my house. It felt surreal to see my cat-loving, piñata-and-reptile-birthday-loving, Four of July sparkler‑waving, trick‑or‑treating friend suddenly pulling into my driveway like she was ready for her next big adventure.
My Toy Story 5 moment
Then one year, we went trick‑or‑treating together, and it hit me that the two toddlers who once dressed up as a fairy and Minnie Mouse were now doing each other’s makeup and enjoying late‑night after‑parties at each other’s houses, gossiping about the people we knew. It was like we’d upgraded from juice boxes to lip gloss overnight.
That moment was the realization of my own “Toy Story 5.” We grew, we changed, but we’re still each other’s pal.
She’ll be going to college in two years, which means only two more Thanksgivings together, after spending thirteen of them side‑by‑side. It’s bittersweet for me, but wherever she goes, I know she’s meant for amazing things, and I’ll always be cheering for her and wishing her all the best.
Just as in Toy Story 5, we will be there for each other.
Like Woody and Buzz.
Because Rachel’s got a friend in me, to infinity and beyond… and I am here for it.
