From day one they say the friends you make in your freshman year of highschool you will not be friends with when you all graduate. With this thought in my young 13 year old mind never would I have thought that the group of girls I met would still be in my life as of almost 7 years later. We all knew of each other and we're acquainted before starting highschool, but it was not until that first week of ninth grade gym class that we all really hit it off. If I had known the impact of that class would be what it is today, I would have tried to get to know those girls sooner. I was not only introduced to my best friends that year, but the sisters I would have the pleasure of keeping for the rest of my life. We are all completely different individuals, we know that and I think that is part of the reason we get along so well. We all bring things to the group that make us feel whole and as one. The saying is opposites attract and this couldn't have been more true in our case. However, as different as we are, there is never a time that happiness doesn't just radiate and glow time and time again. The first band we discovered we all had a love for was One Direction. That was the typical 2014 boy band every girl our age either completely loved or hated. Back when we first met I can recall us in the locker rooms, sitting on the bleachers, or even walking the track and if not listening to One Direction we were for sure talking about them. Funny how some things never change, although that group is no longer together we still are and even to this day you can catch us driving with the windows down (as we couldn't drive back then), scream singing to old One Direction songs at the top of our lungs. Anyone could also catch us on any given friday night getting together to listen to some childhood throwbacks. I remembered thinking that was one of the best parts of us. We never were partial to just one group or singer, we owned the definition of throwback jams. It didn't matter the genre or decade it came from, we knew it all. I could never recall a time that when we were together we hadn't listened to at least one song and screamed every word. Love The Way You Lie, I Want It That Way, and Hericane became particular favorites to us. Each time it is an adventure of its own. No matter how small or how large the journey, we made every minute spent together count. Adventure calls our name and we can't stay away. Every day is a new opportunity for an adventure together and we do just that and take it. We've taken trips most don't even dream of getting to take with their friends, Disney World has been a personal favorite of mine. The long car rides with our favorite band singing and the sun setting behind us, the jokes and happiness, the adventure. That is our purpose for being together and continuing our lives with each other in them. I have been touched by this group without them even trying time and time again. No matter what happens or how far we drift down the road, we all know our friendship is too precious to lose. I want to personally thank them for the years past and the years to come.

So here's a message for you: Dear Sister Squad, thank you for coming into my life and never leaving. I won't say we haven't had our disagreements because that wouldn't be the truth, but in the end we always manage to communicate and resolve our conflicts. We all mess up, we all lose ourselves even sometimes but one thing is for sure.. as long as we have each other I know that none of us will be alone in any situation. I want to thank you for continuing to be a light in my life when I get lost and feel alone. I want to thank you for believing in me when the whole world was against me. We have been through bad and good together and i'm sure whatever the future holds we know we have each other. Every New Years, Fourth of July, Galentine's Day, Halloween, Christmas, and more will forever have a place in my heart. I want to thank you for the nights we stayed up laughing and talking until the sun came up, the car rides with the music blasting, the random lunch dates, I want to thank you for it all. Even the most small things may seem they never mattered, but sometimes those are what mattered the absolute most. Thank you for being true and honest. Although sometimes things I may not want to hear have to be said and you always deliver in a way that is kind and understanding. Deep talks are given often whenever needed. They don't always have to be about things happening in our own lives either, sometimes it's about whether or not we think it would be possible to swim across the entire earth ocean to ocean. I am so lucky to have something so wonderful in my life. It is such a beautiful thing to know our timelines aligned just right and it has brought us all together forever. I am so thankful your siblings are like my own and mine yours, our families are just as close as we all are. It would never seem odd or strange to anyone if I decide to just show up one day and hang out even if you weren't home. Thank you for the endless laughter, all the times my stomach ached and my cheeks were sore. Your energy brings me so much happiness. There is often times I catch myself admiring you and thinking what did I do to deserve such astounding women beside me through thick and thin. Now that I have you in my life, I don't think I could live without you in it. You deserve nothing but the best that life has to offer you. All I could ever wish for you is never ending happiness and joy. I want you to have the brightest future you could’ve ever envisioned for yourself and you know I will be there supporting you every step of the way. You are beautiful and kind and strong and smart and so many things that I could write a book to describe how many wonderful things you have about you. You don’t get to see the you that I see. The you that smiles at the sight of something that makes you happy, the laugh I hear after someone makes a corny joke, the love I feel and kindness you bring into every room. I want you to never forget that. Thank you for everything. Thank you for being my sisters. Thank you for being “my person”. I will forever be grateful and thankful for having you in my life. I am so happy that I proved those who said “you won't be friends with the same people you start highschool when you all graduate" wrong. We graduated together and now are still going strong over a year later. I want to leave you with this quote, “you have me, until every last star in the galaxy dies, you have me."

Love always, a member of the sister squad.

oh and always remember.. YOU ARE LOVED