Have you ever had that friend who you can’t remember how, where, when, or why you became friends, but you thank your lucky stars every day that you did? Well, that’s my best friend Emily Smith. Em, for your 19th birthday, my present to you is this article, so I can express how grateful I am that you have been by my side for however long we are friends now. And since I know you like the back of my hand, yes, I got you a real gift, too!
For those of you who don’t know Emily Smith, let me give you some background. There are approximately 2,837,565 people with the last name Smith in the US, approximately 335,024 people with the first name Emily and approximately 2,951 with the name Emily Smith. Out of all those people, I got the honor of having the one in a million Emily Smith as my best friend. She is an amazing photographer, musician, daughter, sister, girlfriend, driver, singer (ha!), best friend and so much more. Emily inspires everyone she meets to be independent, positive and brave. She has been through quite a lot in her almost 19 years of life but has never let anything stop her from achieving her dreams. She loves mandalas, peace signs and dream catchers because she’s just that kind of serene person, and yet, at the same time she is the loudest, most animated person you will ever meet.
Opposites usually attract, and likewise alike forces repel, but that is not the case for us. We are completely 100 percent in sync all the time. We have the same sense of humor, we belong to the same clubs at separate colleges, we read each others mind and we even write for the Odyssey together. I don’t know where I begin and she ends, when it comes to our shared gestures and sayings, and we share the same love of food, clothes, boy, movies and everything in between.
Emily, you have influenced me in so many ways. When you’re around, my mood instantly lifts and I am a better person. I am more responsible and energetic with you, mostly because one of us has to be, and I am definitely never bored when you’re around. I live for our sushi dates with the guys, movie nights when we’re broke, late night target runs, black Friday attempts, summer pool dips, out of town excursions, holidays, regular days, all the good times and the bad. I love it when you come to me with fashion advice, to borrow makeup, for boy guidance and just to keep our running streak going on Snapchat. I love everything you do and everything you make me do, so please, never stop being you. As your boyfriend says, “She is my sunshine, she is the reason I want to get out of bed in the morning. She makes my heart feel light and fluffy. I love her.”
Don’t get me wrong, you are a total pain in the butt, but you’re my pain in the butt. I have to trick you and tell you something starts an hour-and-a-half earlier just to be on time, I have to bribe you with incentives sometimes just to get you off the couch, and you’re the laziest person I know when you want to be, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. You are also kind, loyal, sweet, truthful, beautiful, passionate and as our best friend Rich puts it, “Emily is as awesome as the invention of rock and roll!”
Thank you for making me a better person. Thank you for listening to me ramble on and on when I get upset. Thank you for giving me an extra boost when I need it the most. Thank you for driving me because you know I hate it. Thank you for dealing with me because I know it isn’t easy. Thank you for celebrating my accomplishments like they were your own, and for letting me celebrate yours. Thank you for being my best friend, my sister and my partner in crime, always. But most of all, thanks for always microwaving the popcorn because you know I always burn it. You don’t know how much I value our friendship. Happy birthday, Em. I love you so much!
