Dear Best Friend,
We have been friends for almost 18 years now, and you are family more than most people actually in my family. Eighteen years sounds insane. Eighteen years of laughing until we cried, staying up late, breaking a few rules, breaking a few hearts and so much more. As with most friendships, we have had our fair share of ups and our downs. Yet, we remained just as close. I am so lucky to have someone like you in my life. I just wanted to say thank you.
Thank you for teaching me how to not take life so seriously. Whether it was chasing after boys or making ~fashion statements~ (please refer to the thousands of pictures of Paul Frank outfits and DC shoes with the puffy tongue), you always showed me that life was way too short to not take risks.
Thank you for being the best version of yourself. We took the same classes and played on the same sports teams. Your success in these things pushed me to do the same. Thank you even more for always being there to pick me up when those successes did not come easy (I am thinking about a project for Italian in high school, you know which one).
Thank you for being my biggest supporter. We were always teammates growing up. I always knew you had my back on and off the field, but when life took us in different directions as we got older, you still remained my biggest fan. Whether it was supporting my lacrosse team in college or sending a “go get 'em” text before an interview, you were always there cheering me on two thousand miles away.
Thank you for agreeing to a marriage pact if we are both single at 40 years old. It's crazy out there, and I can’t do this by myself. It is good to know I have a future with lots of dogs and Netflix binge-watching with my best friend… just in case we both can’t get our lives together by 40.
Thank you for always being yourself. It was no surprise to me when you came out in high school. I am your best friend, duh. You are brave enough to be completely who you are in a world that desperately wants to be like everyone else. That is amazing to me. You inspire me every day.
Thank you for our almost lifetime of friendship. There are so many other things I can thank you for, but I would have had to start writing them all down in 1999. Thank you for all the adventures, all the late night calls and the very few arguments (thinking of Santa Cruz and our lively debate on wax v. no wax on skim boards - may I point out that I am still right?). I don’t want to say I hope we will have many years of friendship to look forward to, because I don’t have to hope. I know we will. Thank you.
