If you were at the highest point in your life at one moment right before something bad comes up, it makes that bad point so much worse. To say my summer was amazing would be an understatement. It wasn't amazing, it was perfect.

It was just me and the boys and the world was our own. A group of five guys on the beach. The beach to ourselves, the hotel room to ourselves, the world to ourselves. Perfect. We were running around, making YouTube videos, getting popular, burying ourselves in the sand, going to the pier, and just had fun with anything that was thrown at us. We had even gone and bought a pet cactus just to take care of as a group. Everything was how it should be. All of us were as close as ever, or at least that is what I thought.

I still remember the last time I saw my friend Chandler. He lives in Oklahoma, and I made the drive up with him to keep him company. We said our goodbyes, and promised to see each other soon. It was a perfect goodbye at the time, but I didn't know it was permanent. Perfect had turned inside out. Perfect… was over.

All of a sudden, all connection between us was cut. He no longer responded to my texts, he deleted his social media, and so on. I knew something was wrong but he wouldn’t let me help. He wouldn't let anyone in. His location was always at the hospital, and that scared me. Chandler cherished his friendships and I knew he wouldn't just throw that away. Something big had changed his life, and in effect it was changing ours as well.

After getting in contact with his girlfriend, I found the answer I was looking for. His mom was sick, and because of that he changed. Instead of letting us help him he isolated himself from everyone except his girlfriend. That was a slap in the face, since I had known him and been his closest friend for years. This girl he’s only been with for a month or so. I could even bring up how in bro code you are supposed to go to your home dogs first thing, but I guess that’s too childish to make a big deal of. I should've been there for him, but he wouldn’t let me. As his mom slowly got better, he didn't. I guess he was tired of us calling him and him ignoring us. I finally got in touch with him over text. His responses didn't even sound like the real Chandler. He made one thing clear, he didn't care about us anymore.

He changed, and that changed me. My mindset, my outlook on everything, how I treat others, what I considered perfect, it all had changed. I miss my friend, but because of that, I make sure to cherish the friends I have now. Next time I'm going through a hard time, next time perfect is no longer perfect, I know I won't turn my back on them.