To My Best Friend Back Home,

We've been with each other through everything. We got through high school largely because of one another. When we tossed our caps at graduation, we were excited for the next chapter in our lives. We were ready. College would be great, we knew. We weren't, however, sure what our futures apart would bring. You went to a school near home, and I flew almost 700 miles for my next adventure.

These past two years, we've been through a lot: boys, breakups, horrible professors, difficult classes, jerk friends, petty drama, etc., and you've been with me through it all. If I learned anything this past year, through the loss and growing and changing and happiness that I've experienced, it's this: distance means nothing.

I know that if I call you at 3 a.m., you'll answer without hesitation. I know that if I text you with an outfit crisis, you'll be the only one to give me the right advice even from 700 miles away. I know that when a guy knocks me on my a**, you'll be ready to knock him on his. You'll give me advice on what not to say (though we both know I've probably already said it) and how to react to the most difficult situations. You'll be there for every hair issue, failed test, scraped knee, minor hiccup, and major catastrophe. I know that it's difficult not to see each other every single day like we used to and we want to, but we're thriving on our own.

I'm saddened that I don't see you as much as I want to, but I am thrilled that we are both conquering our own worlds. I get so excited every time you ace a test, get asked out on a date, get another recognition or honor, or by any of the other accomplishments you are consistently achieving. We are both thriving in our own environments, succeeding, and, little by little, fulfilling the dreams people always thought were too big.

Honestly, thanking you wouldn't be enough. Words can't even express how much you have been there for me, even hundreds of miles away. I know that our relationship has changed over the years and I'm sure it'll continue to change; we are growing and aging, after all, becoming adults in a scary world. You'll find your doctor friends with lab coats and scrubs and I'll probably hang around with people cursing the patriarchy and expressing themselves through the arts. I know we'll always have each other (and, also, they can't be your best friends; that role is already taken by me).

I can, however, continue to say no matter where we are in life, I don't know where I would be without you (probably lost and confused somewhere, crying over a stupid boy and questioning my sanity). I don't know if I could have survived college thus far without you. I don't know if I could have survived life thus far without you. Our relationship dynamic may change, but the place you have in my life will always stay the same, no matter the distance between us or the lives we are living.

One of the best parts of coming home is getting to see you; stuffing our face with carb-loaded food, rolling our eyes at the romantic movies we always watch, blaring music in the car with the windows all the way down, and reminiscing on the "good ol' days" as if we're 100 years old. We have a relationship that is rare to find.

People often say that your soulmate is the significant other you meet and marry and grow old with. A soulmate is someone who understands you better than you understand yourself, the person who knows what you need/want even when you don't, the person who can sense when something is wrong or knows the answer without asking the question. Maybe I'll find a soulmate to marry (obviously someone you approve of). But, even if I don't, I know I found my friend soulmate, who will be stuck with me for the rest of her life without any questions about it. The same friend whose wedding I'll cry at when she walks down the aisle, meet for drinks after a long day at work, will force our kids to fall in love with one another because then we'd actually be related, meet at a coffee shop to complain about our husband's inability to do the dishes, and a million other things. I can't wait to see what life brings us.

You're stuck with me. And I'm so not sorry.

See you soon and all my love,

Your Best Friend No Matter The Distance