This past weekend, my best friend from home came to visit me at college. Just the few short hours I was able to spend with her, reminded me of the importance in maintaining relationships with people who you don't get to see very often.

Being in college is absolutely wonderful. You get to live with your friends and see them whenever you want to. However, when you start thinking about it, there are a lot of differences between your friends at school and your friends at home.

Friends in college: you feel close to them because you most likely spend the majority of your time with them.

Friends from home: you've known them for a long time - you've been through a lot. You can list their grandparent's names and their garage code without thinking twice about it.

You get the point, they're different kinds of relationships. Seeing my best friend from home was refreshing. We were able to talk about her family and mine, old friends and new, memories from years ago, all while being completely supportive of the place we are both at right now. This reminded me just how important it is to maintain these crucial relationships.

Your best friend from home knows you best. They know the person you were in middle school, how you were raised, what made high school the best or worst four years of your life. They know how your brain works and how you think. They know how your heart works, how you feel and when you feel it. They know you. And they know you better than anybody else.

I'm not saying friends from school can't be that to you, because I have some that know me all the same, but a friend from home is someone you can vent to and receive unbiased advice. A friend from home is someone that can call you out when you haven't been making the best decisions. A friend from home is the one that will come to your school, meet your friends, while secretly the whole time analyzing your new life to make sure you're happy. A friend from home makes you feel secure and comfortable. They are the stability when everything is shaky.

So, cheers to all the "best friends from home!"