Friends. Teammates. Sisters.

“Friends” are the ones who stand by you through thick and thin, sharing laughter and wiping away tears. “Teammates” push you to excel in the face of challenges. “Sisters” evokes a deep connection forged by shared experiences – a bond. Independently, they all play a powerful position in a person’s life. Finding all of these qualities in one person is like hitting the lottery. 

Peyton Heisler and Maggie Howard are fortunate enough to embody all three roles in each other’s lives, making their bond so incredibly rare. From car rides to sharing the softball fields, these girls have been inseparable since they were kids. 

As graduation draws nearer, the bittersweet realization that their journey together will take them on separate paths elicits a lot of emotions – and memories. “I think it’s hard to choose our best moment together”, Peyton reflects, “We are together every day. I enjoy it when we travel together, whether it’s for softball or just in general. We also go to Aroma Joe’s like – three times a week together!”   Maggie emphasizes the importance of mutual support and aspirations, and how “understanding each other’s dreams and goals” has influenced their friendship dynamic that makes them so close. Fortified by the shared pursuit of academic and athletic excellence, their friendship has evolved over the years.

Navigating the highs and lows of any friendship is not easy, but Peyton and Maggie seem like they have them all figured out. They have to get over any differences or arguments that they have because they see each other so often, but their personalities balance each other out. “Maggie keeps me in line. I think we keep each other in line” Peyton adds. To maintain a strong bond between friendships, Maggie advises “to continue to make plans together. It gives you something to look forward to instead of just seeing each other. We drive toge

ther daily, but we still have to make plans to keep it fun.”

As their senior year comes to an end, Peyton heads to the University of Pennsylvania, Maggie sets her sights on Georgetown University. Both girls will begin their new journey in unfamiliar territory – apart.

While Maggie knows “that it will be hard at first”, Peyton sees it more as the next step in their friendship. “I think I know we both are excited to get out. We will miss our friends, but we are both ready to move on for a while.” The two girls already plan on visiting each other often, and like Peyton says “the metro to Washington, D.C. is only two hours away.”

In Peyton and Maggie’s story, friendship isn’t just a label. Their friendship is a lifeline, and a source of strength and support as they navigate the winding roads of life – even if those roads diverge for a while.