Leaving home is hard, but leaving behind your friends, the people you've grown up with and who know you better than anyone else is even harder. College means a lot of exciting new beginnings, but it means a lot of sad endings, too; gone are the days where you'd see the same friends every day, and do everything together. Of course, there's still texting and Facetime, and you can check their social media for updates, but a lot of the time, it just isn't the same.

But who's to say that awesome friendships won't last despite this?

We may be at different colleges, leading separate lives, but some bonds can't be broken. To the girls who are more than just 'high school friends', I have so many thanks to give, but here are a few important ones that need to be said.

Thank you for...

1. Making me laugh every time we talk

Be it an inside joke or an awkward encounter with someone you don't know (or even better: someone from back home), I can always count on you to make me bust out laughing in the middle of a 200-person lecture.

2. Letting me feel included in your college experience

Even from hours and hours away, I still feel like we're going through this college thing together, and I am so grateful for that. It's awesome to not feel like I'm completely missing out on what's happening in your lives, but still know that we'll have a bajillion things to talk about when we see each other again.

3. Continuing to do things that make me proud to be your friend

When we all lived in the same town, I was so incredibly proud of who you all were. College hasn't changed that, and it never ever will.

4. Reminding me to stay true to who I am

It can be easy to lose yourself in the hustle and bustle of college life--you, my dear friends, are the rock that keeps me from going off the deep end (or from eating an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's at 3 in the morning).

5. Lifting me up whenever I need it

Be it worrying over boys, getting stressed out from school work, or simply missing home, I know I always have a fantastic group of wonderful ladies to turn to.

6. Still being a part of my support system

Even as busy as we all are, you all would drop everything you could to help me if I needed you to. I can't tell you how important that is to me.

7. Holding on to our friendship

Trust me, I know that it sometimes gets hard keeping up with each other while we've got our own things going on. So the fact that, through it all, we continue to stick it out and maintain such a great friendship, speaks volumes to me.

Keep doing you, ladies, because I love and thank you endlessly for it.