As a disclaimer, I am a terrible photo editor, and all my pictures with the guy I am about to talk about were taken in such a way that I could not have one as a good photo. I will be adding pictures in the article.

There are certain people in your life that just have an ability to enhance your experiences on this planet. Whether it is family, friends, or other important people, we can always make sure to rely on a few select people to put us in a good mood and to share good times with. I have made relationships like these at college that I will be forever grateful for, and I will never lose sight of them. I also do not intend on losing sight of what I have in terms of special family and friends from back home.

Which brings me to my next point. I met this man in sixth grade because we both played the baritone in the best brass section in the history of junior high schools, and we shared gym class together that same year. Ever since those experiences, we have been best friends. This is an open letter dedicated to the "cuddy b", Matt Baitler, my best friend from back home.

If you think about it, this friendship is one of chance. Without moving to Aurora, Illinois from the great state of Michigan, I never would have known your goof self. We would never have had the epic 2K battles that almost always ended in you winning (it's okay, I'm only a little salty) or the actual 1-on-1 basketball matches that were always closer. We would never have been able to talk about our experiences with girls, or discover new rap music, or vibe in the car together, or help each other through confusing times. I would have never have dragged you with me to Sonic to get something to eat (my personal favorite is the chili cheese tots), and we would never have gone batshit crazy multiple times at Six Flags, going on the same rollercoasters over and over again and laughing about what other people were doing in line. The debates about basketball, baseball, and football would never have come to fruition.

It puts life itself into perspective, almost. It makes me believe that life truly is a game of inches because things we know and love could have almost been nothing if not for chance events. Out of all the cities in the Midwest, what was the chance that you would have moved to my hometown in grade school?

But this can't be all about you, *inserts laughing emoji here* because your family has been nothing short of incredible to me. Whether it be your dad always joking with me about bailing me out of jail if I did anything wrong, your mom always greeting me with her warm smile, or your sister and I talking about Chik-fil-A and Snapchat filters, your family has been my second family. And that I will forever appreciate.

I know you're going to do great things in life. You have a passion for music and sound, in general, that is unmatched; I have never met anyone with as much of an ear for contemporary hip-hop music as you, and I know that you are going to use your talents for big productions. You are going to make a difference, and that I am proud of. You work hard, and the results have shown. Which reminds me, we still have to make that rap song. I'll be on lyrics, and you can be in production because you're closer in talent to Metro Boomin than I will ever be.

Thank you for being there for me all these years. I know we will not be able to hang out with each other as much as we used to because of school, but friendships like the one we have don't die out. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a friendship; I would call it a sibling relationship.

Much love, brother.