Who else here has made friendship bracelets or choreographed secret handshakes with their best friend? Maybe you guys had one of those necklaces sets where your part spells "best" and theirs spells "friends"? Whatever it was, most of us felt the need to cement the special bond with our BFFLs through some kind of physical gesture.
But as you age, you grow out of those things, and even though you might still be close with your classroom bestie, your friendship is now probably only symbolised through after work drinks and lazy Sunday afternoons spent watching old romcoms together.
For Selena Gomez, however, it seems like she's still up for the material signifiers of her strongest friendships at age 26. Over the weekend, she and her three closest friends got together to celebrate Selena's bestie Courtney Barry's 26th birthday. The four of them had a low-key dinner together before deciding to get matching best friend tattoos.
Selena and her friends decided to immortalise their friendship by getting themselves permanently inked. The four of them get identical designs, and even though they might be tiny, the former Disney star revealed that they have a really sweet meaning behind them.
They all decided to get the number “4” tattooed on different parts of their bodies, and Selena explained why in an Instagram post.
She wrote: "#4 because these women have stayed by my side for 7 years (@ashley_cook 12 years) 4, because you are my 4 for the rest of my life."
“I love you ladies. You all inspire me to be better, stronger, closer to god and we have lived the most INSANE story together already. Can’t wait for 50 more!! Ps @raquellestevens had an actual panic attack."
Courtney, whose birthday they were celebrating, shared a similar post revealing that the tattoos were a completely spontaneous decision.
The caption accompanying the photos of her birthday evening said: "chill family dinner turned wild (I cannot believe we convinced @raquellestevens to get a spontaneous tattoo)".
Courtney and Selena got an additional tattoo together, this time the number "1". Both 26-year-olds got the tattoos on the sides of their ribcage.
“And lastly, my actual #1@courtneyjbarry you are an incredible woman," she wrote. "The way you handle life’s most confusing moments is indescribable and graceful. You are moved by the littlest stories to the most heartbreaking ones."
“You will give someone your perfume if they say you smell nice, you are freaking hilarious and always stand firm in your faith, a loving sister, an amazing friend and a beautiful daughter. You are the definition of FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made baby! #1"
Courtney shared the same pic, writing "we finally did it!", suggesting that she and the actor/singer had been thinking about getting matching tats for a while.
Well, it is kind of a big deal to get a tattoo, but getting one with your best friends alongside you to commemorate something as special as longstanding friendships – that's got to make it easier.
