It's hard to write a heartfelt article about your friends when you can hear their voices in your head laughing and making fun of you. Truthfully we aren't the kind of friends that are regularly sappy and emotional together--if at all. But there are somethings I would like them to know and there's a lot of things I want everyone to know because they're too humble to say it themselves.

One thing you should know about me right off the bat is that I wholeheartedly support and cheer on my friends in every life decision they make. So when my boyfriend Andrew introduced me to his friends in the Penn State NROTC program, I was instantly their biggest cheerleaders. I almost instantly became best friends with one of these friends, Jess. (Hi Jess hehe) Jess is one of the few strong women in the NROTC program at Penn State and is the most badass person I know. Diego, Klo, and Creamer came right along after that. These guys are the goofy ones making everyone laugh but at the same time, they know when to be serious and get shit done. I never knew that Andrew joining NROTC at Penn State would bring along the greatest group of people I have ever met.

Now to the part, they're going to make fun of me for:

Jess, Diego, Klo, and Creamer:

To start off I'd like to thank all of you for your willingness and readiness to serve our country. Not many people have the guts to chose that route for their life. Your courage and bravery do not go unappreciated. It takes a special person to be up studying all night, wake up at 4 or 5 am, workout, do physical fitness tests, drill team practices, maintaining your GPA, and much much more. You are those special people and I am very proud of all of you every single day for that.

It's hard to think that you're halfway to graduation and commissioning fully into the Navy. It's even harder to think that someday we all may be in different parts of the world. And although that will majorly suck, I know it will be equally, if not more, difficult for all of you to pick up and leave. Therefore, for every holiday, half-birthday, birthday, Penn State football game, and important life milestones, you will receive a novel of a letter letting you know all the drama at home and a small box of treats. I have already spent an insane amount of time researching this on Pinterest so I'm pretty much an expert now. I hope someday those letters and treats from home will bring you comfort.

I can't say enough how proud I am of all of you. And when the day comes, I will be sure to wear waterproof makeup at your commissioning.