Having a good friend always makes a difference. I know that because of my best friend Briqlie. I don’t know where I’d be now if I didn’t have her. She’s a quiet girl, but when she’s with me she’s as crazy as a girl can get. If I didn’t have her through my times of need I would have been in a depressed state that I don’t think I could have gotten out of. It’s not just her though, her older sister Ali and the rest of her family always seem to be there when I need help or support and when I am feeling down and out. I want to tell you a little about Briqlie and how we met and explain how having a great friend can be life-saving.

I had just moved back to Marquette from Georgia. My family belongs to the Mormon Church and I was sitting by myself in our young women’s group when I first saw her. Briqlie was this quiet, small, almost fragile girl that sat in the corner. I didn’t know it back then, but she would become my best friend. It was at school that I really started to get to know Briqlie. I was just starting to get to be independent when I started sitting with her at lunch. We slowly got to know one another: our strengths, our flaws. I finally could be myself and not be afraid to show who I really was, and trust me, I can be crazy. We really bonded one day at church. We were sitting in what I like to call our corner of the room during young women’s group and I had brought pizza flavored Pringles and asked Briqlie if she’d like some. She had one, then two, then half the container. It’s something we’ll never forget. Our memories of each other will always be some of our favorites.

Now, like I said, Briqlie looks like this small, quiet, fragile girl, but once she gets to know you and is comfortable with you, she’s crazy cool. She loves cats and one of her favorite book series is Warriors by Erin Hunter. It’s mine too. We love the series and we’ll share books with each other. We’re working together to help one another complete the series. Briqlie has three pets at the moment: a black, small, fluffy dog named Rocky; a black and white kitten named Rose; and a leopard gecko named Freckles. She has three siblings and I swear I’m part of the family too.

Now, earlier I mentioned I was in a depressive state and I’m sure you’re all wondering what happened. I won’t go into great detail, but I will say I was having a fight with a friend and she wasn’t being the greatest person on Earth at the time. I was hurt and my parents didn’t know what to do to help me. It’s not like it was their fight. It was mine, and it was hard and it hurt. The one person that never left my side though was Briqlie. She was there to lift me up and make me laugh even through the hard time I was having. Her family took me in and stood by my side. Her faith in me was never shaken and even now as I am working on repairing the friendship with the other person, she stays by my side. She keeps me going and always reminds me I will never be alone.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Angel O’Connor is an 18-year-old junior at Marquette Senior High School. She loves to swim and read, and also likes to write about living with autism so that her story might help others.