Friends are a funny thing, I mean these are the people that you chose to spend your time with. They aren't like your family who you're stuck with. They are the ones you actually have a choice on. Now best friends are also a funny thing because they are the ones who you decide are the best people in your life over all of your other friends. Best friends come in all shapes and sizes and they come in different kinds as well. I have five different best friends that I want to talk about and maybe you have these kinds of best friends, too.

1. My Elementary Best Friend

Marie Gentil is one of the first friends I made in elementary school. We met in first grade and have been friends ever since. I call her my elementary best friend because she was my best friend throughout elementary school and one of my first ones.

Your elementary best friend is generally going to be the one friend that you made very easy and hopefully going to be one of the friends that you keep around for a long time. You may hit bumps and rough patches with this friend but you are always able to bring your friendship back to one whole piece. I say this because that is exactly what happened in my case.

We had a couple rough years as friends but I believe that our friendship is back to what it was when we first met in the first grade. I would not trade her for anyone else and hope she feels the same way about me. We have been through so many things together and I want to thank Marie for being one of my first friends and one of my first best friends.

2. My Family Best Friend

Now I know I said before that you really can't chose your family, but that doesn't mean you can't chose a best friend from your family members. I don't think I have ever told her this but I consider my cousin, Johanna (Hanna) Storm, to be my family best friend.

Your cousins are, as they say, the first friends that you make and I think is definitely true when it comes to Hanna. Your family best friend is the person who knows all of your family secrets and the person you can share almost anything with that has to deal with the family in general. This is also the one best friend that once you choose them, you are kind of stuck with them because you can't just stop being family from one another.

We have had some really great and funny times together and I want to thank Hanna, even though she may not know it yet, for being my family best friend and I want to say, sorry you're stuck with me forever.

3. My Work Best Friend

I would hope that everyone has a work best friend because work would be a lot more boring without one. I'm lucky to call Sammy Dishong my work best friend and she isn't just my work best friend because we share the same name. I can call her my work best friend because we understand each other and have been through so many things together in the work place.

I feel like work best friends understand you a lot better in a different way than other best friends because they are the ones you spend a lot of your time with and are the ones that see what you have to go through on a day-to-day basis.

I can always count on Sammy to make my day better at work by making me laugh because she is a hilarious person and when she starts laughing you can't help but join in with her. Your work best friend is also someone who you can joke around with without having feelings hurt or a friendship broken. Thank you, Sammy, for being one of my best friends and thank you for making work an enjoyable place to come to.

4. My College Best Friend

Going off to college without your best friend can be a scary thing, but that just means that you need to make a college best friend and that is exactly what I did. I'm so happy that I was able to meet Bobbi Radonski on my first day of classes. I think it was fate that put us in the same classes our freshman year and I have to thank fate because I don't know what I would have done without Bobbi in my life. She has made my first four years of college more enjoyable and she has made them exciting as well.

I believe that your college best friend understands your stress levels a little better than your other best friends and this has been proven many times over the course of these past four years. Bobbi is a one-of-a-kind person and I wouldn't trade her for anyone else, I hope that this friendship made in college lasts a long time and that it continues to grow. Thank you Bobbi for coming into my life at just the right moment and heres to many more years together as friends.

5. My Best Friend Through The Years

I consider Erin Athy to be my best friend overall because she has been my best friend through the years. We met in third grade and have been best friends ever since.

This is the best friend that you can tell anything to with no judgement. This is also the one friend that you can go for a long time without talking to and still not skip a beat when you hangout, the one person that you can trust will be there for you no matter how much time has past since you last spoke.

Erin is a great friend to have and I can only wish that everyone out there has a friend like her in their life. I can trust her with everything and that is why I call her my best friend through the years and my best friend overall. Thank you, Erin, for coming into my life and sticking with me through so many years.

Best friends are sometimes hard to come by, but I'm glad that I can call these five young women some of my best friends and my family. I hope that you all have friends like these ones and if you do, you should hold on to them because they are the ones that know you the best and probably the ones that know all of your secrets. So in the end, best friends are something that is important in life and they are something that are special. Hold one to those that are special and to those that you love like family.