Simply said, your best friends easily make up a huge part of who you are. Whether you realize it or not, they are a lot more like family then they are friends. Here's how:

1. They put up with your “aggravating” side

Don’t deny it! We all have one. Some of ours are worse than others, but just like you put up with all of theirs, they DEFINITELY put up with all of yours.

“Okay guys I know I’ve asked this like a million times now but like I’m going to ask it again. Try and give me different advice this time, like the one I want to hear. Okay go.”

2. They help you make the hardest decisions

Often, friends are who you go to first before any real family members because you feel most comfortable talking with them. You can start your questions with the “don’t judge me” line and it usually holds true. Even if we do judge you, we do it secretly and you’ll never find out.

3. They also help you make the stupidest of decisions

Yes, friends do this too. In fact, it is the small and seemingly random questions that get much of the attention. Most of us has a group of friends where they can just blurt out the most useless of questions and likely get 12-16 responses.

“Guys what should I have for dinner tonight?”

“Go Italian, Italian is never wrong”

“No, shush, vegetarian. Throw some kale in there”

“Just apples and baby carrots for days”

“OMG go somewhere super nice. Treat yo self”

Yes, this is similar to the conversations I have with my group of friends. It almost always ends with whoever asked the question taking absolutely none of our suggestions.

“You know what. I’m going to go get some sushi. Thanks Guys!

4. They laugh at your terrible jokes because they feel obligated to

If you have had a best friend, you have done this before. They love you, so they make you feel better. That is essentially in their job description. You will and you have made comments that were anything but funny. And your friends have definitely smiled and nodded out of sheer courtesy and nothing more. You do it with boring relatives just like they do it with you. That’s true love.

5. They bother you at work because they can

This is my favorite past time, I’m going to be frank.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“What’s up.”

“You at work?”

“How’s work”

“Whatcha doing”

“ACKNOWLEDGE ME”

“LOVE ME”

“I JUST GOT ON BREAK WHAT DO YOU WANT”

“Hi.”

6. They will always be proud of you for all of your large and small achievements

It’s a fact. Whether you cured cancer or you finally got out of bed these are serious celebratory actions.

“Guys you’ll never believe what I just did…I assisted in a liver transplant!”

“THAT’S AMAZING WHAT?”

“GUYS I GOT OUT OF BED BEFORE 3:00!!”

“SO MANY CELEBRATIONS!”

7. They have separation anxiety whenever the group is apart

Being away from the people you know inside and out is weird to say the least. College presents a constant back and forth of environment and that includes the people you spend most of your time with. The different college schedules make it difficult for everyone to be together at the same time.

Only one of my friends is on the quarter system and is in school throughout much of the rest of our summers. All of the conversations go the same.

“Guys the weather is perfect today.”

“Guys I just landed a great job with the school!”

“Guys I nearly was at a party with Justin Bieber…”

“That’s nice. Come home please.”

8. They adopt you when you’re homeless

“I need to crash with someone please.”

“Me.”

“No, me”

“No, I called dibs on her next time!”

9. They support you when you’re more broke than they are

Your friends likely go through the following situation:

“I want to go get lunch. Someone come with me.”

“Oh I will!”

“Perfect…I don’t have money.”

“…Me neither”

“I have five bucks, you?”

“…two.”

“I’ll spot you, let’s go.”

10. They always bail you out of trouble no questions asked. Unless it was their fault. Actually, it’s usually their fault.

“You know, we’ve been friends for so long. I can’t remember which one of us is the bad influence.”

“Wow me neither…Just remember, if we get caught, you’re deaf and I don’t speak English”

“Got it.”

11. And they would do just about anything for you

“I’d walk through fire for you. Well, not fire. That would be dangerous. But a super humid room? Oh, I’d walk through that.”

If you have friends that meet any of these conditions, take my word when I say that they're ones to keep around.