I’ve been sitting here staring at a blank document for an hour now, trying to figure out how to even begin saying what I want to say to you. Because the thing is, I can barely describe how amazing I think you are. You came out of nowhere, and jumped into my life full force. While I wish that I would’ve told you all of these things during the school year, I thought that this letter might be something permanent for you to look back on, when I might forget to remind you of these things.

You are so beautiful.

Not just physically, either. Your soul is so incredibly bright that anyone around you can’t help but stop and smile. You bring light to everyone’s day, all the time. I strive to have that kind of effect on people. From day one, I knew that you would be able to put a smile on my face, even when it felt like my world was crumbling around me. I can never thank you enough for showing me that kind of positivity and constant sunshine through my cloudy mind at times.

You are hilarious.

Okay, but really, your pun game is On. Point. From the constant dad jokes to the hilarious music puns, I don’t even know how we didn’t injure ourselves laughing at some points in the year. I’m still pretty sure that our Theory professor hated us for all the jokes we made, but they were a *major* part of keeping our sanity…get it? Music Theory joke? It’s funny…Thank you for keeping me laughing when I needed it the most. The day that you stop making Hamilton puns will be the day of doom.

You helped me realize my worth.

Where would I even be without you giving me reality checks on boys. Without you telling me that I was too good for certain people, I’d probably still be stuck in a crappy situation with someone who didn’t deserve my time in the first place. It may have been hard, but you never gave up on me, and made sure that I didn’t let some guy walk all over me while I was trying to succeed at so many other things in my life. You let me cry when it got hard, then took me by the shoulders, stood me back up, and pushed me forward toward new, better people. I can’t even count the many rants you’ve put up with. Not to mention my 13-year-old girl phase as I was hardcore crushing on a dude. You’ve been through it all, and you made sure that I knew who was worth my love and who wasn’t. God knows that’s not an easy task for someone like me who wants to see the best in everyone. So, thank you for looking out for my heart.

You know about everything.

Do I even have to explain this one? We’ve had some weird conversations, girl.

I never had a true friend before you. I didn’t understand what it was like to have someone there for literally everything in my life. Someone to call when I had relationship drama or just needed to get out of my dorm room for coffee in the afternoon. Someone to pray with me and for me. Someone to save my mind when it got too anxious. Or get me out of bed when I thought for sure I was paralyzed from stress. But you, you saved me from what I thought would be the loneliest time of my life. No one tells you how terrifying it is going into your first year of college where you don’t have anyone you know as a crutch. But you made this transition so much easier, and so much brighter for me.

So here’s to you, dear friend. For being the best “sister” I could’ve asked for.

Thank you.