There are a lot of things that happen when your cousin is your best friend. There are so many more things that happen when that best friend also happens to be a boy, and your opposite in every way. My lifelong best friend has always been my cousin, Christian.

Even now, when we barely have time to talk or see each other, the times that we do get together are like nothing has changed at all, and I am so thankful that of all of the people I could have grown up with, he was one of them. When your cousin turns out to be your best friend, life changes, but only for the better.

Having my cousin as my best friend means I have someone that will always protect me. I have never been so fiercely protected or looked after the way he has looked after me. Ever since we were little I have had someone to protect me from the other kids, from the monsters, and sometimes from myself. It's like having a brother, but better.

There have been so many times that I've needed someone to watch over me or to protect me from things and he's been there no matter what. Even if he's mad at me or we haven't talked in months. He'll be there to help me take down whatever is in my way.

Having my cousin be my best friend means I always have someone there to challenge me in every way. Despite growing up together, Christian and I turned out very differently as adults. So in a lot of ways, we challenge each other.

Christian is very loud and in your face almost instantly while I am very quiet and slow to warm up to people. Christian has spent the majority of our lives bringing out the obnoxious person in me. He grabs my hands and runs around stores, he yells all of the time, and if I don't join in then I look like the oddball. He also has a habit of making me face my fears. I hate talking to other people.

It gives me a stress rash. But Christian will force me into as many social situations as he can and start spilling out my life story until I talk. He also pushes me to be better. He knows that I can do anything, I just need a little push to get going.

Having my cousin as my best friend means I have someone to believe in. It also means I have someone that wholeheartedly believes in me. I am not one for having the best self-confidence. In fact, my self- confidence is slim to none. So a lot of the things that I have accomplished in my life are because I have people who believe in me.

Christian has always been the one to push me to follow my dreams and take control of my life because he knows I can do it. The feeling goes both ways. I have always wanted him to be the very best that he can be because I believe in him. Even if one day he decided that he wanted to quit his job and join the circus to be a clown. I would buy tickets to that circus and wear a t-shirt with his face on it because he'd be the best damn entertainer you have ever seen.

Having my cousin be my best friend reassures me that I will always have someone that will be there for me. While we've grown apart from each other the older we've gotten, I don't doubt that if I ever needed him, Christian would be there for me. Through every stage of my life, he's never been more than a few steps away.

There isn't a memory I don't have without him. When we were younger we joked about how we would move into homes in the same town and our kids would play together and be best friends like we were. I even went as far as to jokingly ask him to be my "man of honor" when I get married someday and he offered to show up in a dress and heels like the rest of the bridesmaids.

I've always lacked people that remain constants in my life, but I know that as far as family goes, they'll always be there when the time counts and that's what matters here.

My favorite part of having my cousin be my best friend is having a boy that can give me blunt, honest advice whenever I need it. Who knows more about how to deal with boys other than a boy? No one! I have never gotten better advice on how to deal with boy problems than from another guy.

It's great to have someone that knows what they're thinking and can tell you exactly how to navigate the situation carefully. Not only that, boys tend to be a lot less worried about your feelings when they give you advice. So a lot of their advice is just straight up and blunt, which is what I need sometimes.

Having my cousin as my best friend also means I'll always have someone to be myself around. I mean why not? He already grew up with me, he knows what I'm like. It's easier for me to be myself with him. I can be as quiet as I please, I can be as loud and annoying as I please.

I can dance around and sing off key to songs that no one knows because chances are he will be right there with me to sing and dance along. He can deal with any mood swing or dumb question I throw at him because he is used to me and how I am by now.

We have unbridled amounts of fun when we manage to get along. We make fools of ourselves and it isn't uncommon for us to be quite loud. It's usually me yelling at him for something dumb while he just yells over top of me so I can't hear him. Honestly, If you see us out it's likely that my head has been shoved into his arm pit and one, if not both of us, is screaming.

Basically, when your cousin is also your best friend, it's a god send. I have someone who will be there no matter what and rarely expect anything in return. It's basically like having an older brother, but cooler. So thanks for having been my best friend, Chris. It means the world.