Dear Cait (or Caitlin depending on if you feel like using your full name this week),

I can honestly say I have no idea how we became friends. Most people I can remember a chance meeting or random event or something, but I cannot for the life of me mark a beginning date of our friendship. It just came out of the blue, and I can't be more thankful for that.

I can't really say we came from diverse backgrounds, but in terms of PND you went to St. Vincent and I went to Blessed Sacrament, so that's about as diverse as it gets around there. You knew over half of our freshman class, and I knew like (maybe) five people. Yet somehow, by chance of luck, you got stuck in advisory with Monica. And since she was one of the five people that I know, you got stuck with me too.

Most people find those random people they hang out with at the beginning of the year at a new school and then do their own thing, but we never really did. We didn't hang out every day; we weren't inseparable best friends or anything, and we had our own different interests. But you always had a friendly smile and funny story, and I definitely considered you a friend.

Strangely enough, we got closer as friends the closer we got to graduation. We started having more classes together. That plus some of the usual high school drama pushed us into the same friend-group, and, as they say, the rest is history.

So, yup, that's the best I can trace our friendship. I definitely didn't see it coming, but it's one of the friendships I value most in my life. Even as we have gone to different schools in different states, I can always count on you for anything. If I'm having a rough day and need a smile, you seem to always send the perfect ridiculous story. If I'm stressing about the stresses of college and classes, you always seem to have some sort of advice to put everything into perspective. Somehow, you manage to drive me insane (in a perfectly sisterly way that I would never change) and keep me sane (which is no small feat). You can always seem to drag me a little bit out of my shell, and (hopefully) I can always bring you down to reality if you need it. We may be 252 miles apart (yes, I checked), but real friendships can span oceans so, by comparison, we're pretty well off. I think the strongest friendships are the ones we have and choose to maintain, no matter what the distance or obstacle may be.

And this, being the rather under-funded college student that I am, is the best thing I could come up with for a gift. I know it's not amazing, and but I don't tell you nearly often enough how much your friendship means to me. And it means A LOT. So, happy 21^st birthday to Caitlin – the friend I didn't see coming.