Alyssa,

You are the Lane to my Rory, the Sean to my Cory, the Snooki to my JWoww, the beautiful mix of Schmidt and Nick to my Jess, the Kimmy Gibbler to my DJ.

There are friends. Then, there are best friends.

According to "Grey's Anatomy's" Meredith Grey and Cristina Yang, they're your person. The one who, "if I murdered someone, I'd call you to help me drag the corpse across the living room floor." You're so much more to me than any of those titles can express.

As I've matured throughout the years, I've come to the conclusion that good friends with good hearts serve an incredibly important purpose in our lives, going above and beyond what we give them credit and appreciation for.

Friends are part of the family we choose. You're one of those.

The day we met, even though I was just a little chicken pox covered, blonde hair baby running around your house in a diaper. I knew that you were going to play an important role in my life. What I had no idea of was that you would join the cast of my life with a starring role.

First, I need to say thank you. Thank you for always coming to my locker to check in before class during high school. Thank you for letting me control the music on road trips. Thank you for fighting for me and against me when needed. Thank you for the lessons both good and bad that you've taught me over the years. Thank you for being my soccer and field hockey coach. Thank you for being the one I can count on in times of need. Thank you for sharing your family with me, and addressing my family as if you were born into it.

Thank you for patiently listening to the physical embodiment of a broken record when I complain about the same boy I've loved since senior year that I would never have a chance with. Thank you for tagging along on a simple grocery run, and trip to the post office, a trip around NYC, a action packed tailgate, or a sketchy uber ride through the Lincoln Tunnel, just because you know that I hate doing things alone.

Thank you for not thinking twice before dialing when I text you "please call me." Thank you for calling me or texting me in the middle of the night to let me know that you're okay or that the creepy homeless guy in the subway station didn't try to come after you. Thank you for being happy when I was sad. Thank you for never saying no to a coffee date or a quick trip to Lewis'. Thank you for never giving up on me when everyone else left me. Thank you for being my better half.

We don't share the same genetic makeup, but after all the sleepovers, heart-to-heart conversations, shopping until our bank accounts cry, and swapping clothes so often that we don't know what belongs to whom, how could I not consider you family? We have shared some my fondest memories together, and I wouldn't want them to feature anyone but you.

You've been with me on my best days, and loved me on my worst. You know how to make me laugh when all I want to do is crawl into a hole and die.

Picturing sitting in my car with you in the passenger seat makes me long for summer, where we spend three months together doing all of our favorite things. You've seen me naked, done my makeup, and warned me before making a poor decision and then laughed at me when I didn't listen. Supported me through every move and decision I've made these last few years. Being away from you for extended periods of time makes me feel incomplete.

You are a piece of me that I am not quite whole without. You taught me that blood doesn't make a family; love does.

You know me better than I know myself, which is both amazing and terrifying. You make me realize that actually I'm enough for this world, and that means more to me than I know how to express in the limited words that make up the English language.

You remind me that I am more than my mistakes (and we all know that I've made plenty), and you keep me grounded when I spiral out of control. You've helped me carry my burdens along with your own, even when the universe comes down on you full force, way harder than you deserve. Even though there was a point in our lives where we got tired of trying to cover and bail each other out that we just grew up and apart, the fact the we were family had both of us running back into each others lives.

You are the only one that stuck with me through rehab and the first major and bumpy part of my recovery. You helped me when I wanted to run away and we helped each other battle with our demons.

You're the one I come to for the truth if I think my new dress makes me look fat, and I know you'll be honest. You're the one I can call or text in the middle of the night when I haven't slept in three days because the baby was being up and fussy all night. I trust you with my whole heart. You know the gory details about every boy I've ever crushed on, every professor who was an absolute jerk, and every fight I've had with my mom and my brother.

I wouldn't make it in this life without someone who already understands 99.9% of the things that I am going through and listens to every thought going through my head and each thing I seriously over think, even when you know, though you don't say, it won't matter in a week.

With all these affectionate things being said, don't forget our fights. The few we've had were very real. We still don't see eye to eye on some events of the past, but I never told my mom about it because there was no need to make her choose a side between me and her "second daughter."

We have learned to move forward, because the love we have for each other overwhelmingly outweighs any disagreement we've had, and always will.

Through all the tears and laughs, I don't think that anything the world has to offer could seriously come between us.

Since we met, we've grown separately without growing apart. Neither of us are the same person we used to be all those years ago. Between hair colors, and piercings and tattoos we've grown up and changed our outside appearance but not our inside appearance. So we might not look the same but we are still the same goofy little girls in the basement launching those fairy's in the ceiling tiles, playing carpet football on new years eve, dancing to the spice girls and walking through the woods on adventures for a serial killer we thought was out there after watching one scary movie. Even so, we've pushed each other to our limits and you've given me the courage to keep going and do things that make me happy.

You've become everything that I've ever wanted in a friend that will always be called "auntie" to my children. You made me so happy when you drove all that way the morning after the baby was born just to be there and see me and little dude. I knew you were going to do it but I didn't think it would actually happen. I know that having a fun and crazy person like you in Conor's life is going to make him understand truly what having a best friend is supposed to be.

We lean on each other when it's been a bad day and all we want to do is to snuggle and indulge in whichever show the other is currently watching unceasingly and unabashedly for comfort (it's the little things). Having you as my co-pilot on this crazy ride called life has been frustrating, exciting, slightly concerning, absolutely insane, and something I don't know how I would live without, and I don't intend to find out.

I'll conclude this letter with a quote from every basic, white girl's favorite musical, "I don't know if I've been changed for the better, but because I knew you, I have been changed for good."

Love you forever,

Bernadette