Writing this has been a long time coming. I've always wanted to write this, and never really got around to it. I couldn't give an exact reason why, to be completely honest.

About a year ago, my best friend, Sarah, sent me an essay that she had written for an english composition class. She wrote about me, and about how important our friendship was to her. Since then, I've tried to find just about any excuse to write back.

The essay started with Sarah making the most relevant point I have ever read. When we first met, I was quiet and I was TERRIFIED of getting into any kind of trouble. She wrote that just about everything since then had changed. This is no joke. Because of her, I have become loud and I take more risks than I ever thought I would. In all honesty, I am who I am today because I am friends with Sarah. I am never more fearless than when the two of us are together, and, to be fair, she is the same way. In no other situation would either of us EVER consider dropping $40 each on a gorilla suit, but with her, you know that I asked the associate if there were any in the back available for purchase.

We are the ultimate dynamic duo. Have you ever heard someone say, "If people don't think you and your best friend are in a secret relationship, then you're doing it wrong."? Sarah and I invented that phrase. If you went to high school with us, chances are that at some point you probably thought we were dating each other. We were that inseparable. It got to the point where I would see someone I knew, and they'd ask how Sarah was doing. This is still happening to me post-high school. Someone actually once said to me, "I'd ask if you guys talk much, but I see you all over Instagram together."

She makes me laugh more than anyone I know. Just about everyday, she sends me a text or snapchat that literally makes me laugh out loud. It's so comforting to have a friend who understands you and your sense of humor in a way that no one else does. My mood is increased drastically when I am around her because she always manages to find something humorous to say. One of my favorite things she does is make her own Christmas and birthday cards. I've kept every single one of them; I even have one pinned on my board at school. She includes our funniest pictures and inside jokes and they never fail to put a smile on my face. I've never told her, but getting her cards is the highlight of my Christmas.

I also think that apart from my sister and my parents, she is the person I trust most in this world. She was, and still is, only a phone call away anytime I need her most. She never cares if the night ends with me sobbing in my bed; she's there to hug me and remind me that good things are still to come.

I just want to say thank you to my best pal, my breakfast buddy, my partner in crime. Thank you for always being a shoulder to cry on or someone to laugh with. Thank you for introducing me to new music and for belting out Fleetwood Mac in the car with me. Thank you for reinforcing my caffeine addiction with trips to Dunkin every time we're together. Thank you for never judging me, even when you probably really want to.

I love ya, pal. You're my favorite.