Dear Friend,

The two of us have changed so much since we first met, from shy and calm ten-year-olds to enthusiastic and terrified young adults, I think we can both agree that it has been an interesting ten years. We’ve come so far from our late night Netflix binges, book discussions, slumber parties at each other’s houses, and boy troubles. And while boys are still a big topic, now we are more concerned about graduating college, paying bills and rent, and our future careers. Though one thing has yet to change over the years: our friendship.

I understand how cheesy that sounds but it’s true. You have seen every side of me that exist. You have seen me at my best and at my worst, you have seen me laugh and cry, full of energy and caffeine deprived; you are the one person who can say they have seen it all. There is nothing I do that could possibly surprise you anymore and I like to think the reverse is true as well. You came up to a shy ten-year-old girl reading a book on the playground and asked her to play with you and here we are ten years later, so I want to say something that should have been said years ago: thank you.

When you came up to that shy and timid girl, you changed her life for the better. At that point in time, everything in her reality was changing. Her family was jumping between her grandparents’ house and her aunt and uncle’s house while they were looking for a new home. Her parents were separating once again and there was very little in her life that was solid; at that time, she had decided that living inside her head was better than the reality around her. When you asked her to play with you, you started a friendship that would keep her feet on solid ground for all the years to come and there are no words that express how thankful I am for that.

I know it could not have always been easy being my friend, after all, I can be stubborn, headstrong, single-minded, argumentative, and have a major addiction to caffeine. But you put up with my faults and stayed with me through some of the hardest times of my life as well as participated in some of the best parts of my life. When we performed started high school, performed our first solos in competition, marched in Disney, wrote articles for the school newspaper, applied for college, and prepared to move to all new towns: we did all of these things together and I could never have done them alone.

And even though we no longer live in the same town or go to the same school, I always know that if I ever have a serious problem you will alway be on the other end of the phone to listen. And even though we no longer talk every single day, I know that when we do it will be like nothing has ever changed. So I’d like to say once again:

Thank you for coming up to the shy ten-year-old girl I was who would rather read a book at recess than risk talking to another child and asking me to play with you and your friends. Thank you for convincing me to join the band with you in fifth grade because it encouraged me to try other new things. Thank you for baking me all those birthday cakes because Christmas babies never seem to get them. Thank you for convincing the band director to let me drive home for a cup of coffee because you knew I would be insufferable to everyone without one. Thank you for staying up all hours simply because I needed someone to talk to when things got hard. Thank you for being there for all of my best moments and staying with me through my worst. Thank you for being my friend.

You don’t understand how much you have single-handedly influence my life or how thankful I am for it. You sat through my latest crisis and gave me a place to stay when I had nowhere else to go an no one who cared to listen. You gave me food from your own kitchen when I was starving, cooking it yourself. When I struggled in classes, you helped me with my homework and studied with me. When I felt so suffocated in my house I felt I couldn’t breathe, you would go to dinner or shopping with me because I couldn’t stand being there any longer. You watched my self-esteem slowly grown and would slap me painfully in the arm if you saw any indication it was regressing. You were never afraid to tell me when I was over-confident or cocky and I am grateful for that because it kept me grounded and realistic about my own abilities.

Our friendship got me through some of the toughest times of my life and I will forever appreciate everything you have done for me over the years. I can never truly express how much your friendship means to me, but I’ll try. Whether it’s occasionally buying you a chocolate milkshake, lending you an ear when you need to talk, or giving you a couch to crash on when you need a place to stay; I promise to be there for you the same way you have been there for me.