Dear Emma,

You are the dorkiest person I have ever met in my 19 years of life but I can't help but love you. You dance to every song that plays, you make a weird chipmunk face that haunts my dreams, you squeak when you laugh, and you burp louder than any other human I have ever met in my life.

You are girly and small. You actually like to shop and carry a purse. You are the biggest Broadway musical nerd on the planet and you actually like to dance. I mean who actually is coordinated enough to like dancing? *shudder*. Basically, you're my opposite in almost every possible way. I could never have imagined that meeting you and being your best friend would change my life in the ways that it has.

We met the very first day of sixth grade. We sat next to each other in homeroom and I was convinced I was not making any more friends. That was until we had a very dramatic episode of tears that got me roped in for life. I remember it pretty well too.

We sat in the middle of the room, side by side on one of those really long science tables. You turned to me and asked if I wanted to be your friend. I'm a jerk so I said no and turned away. You immediately burst into tears and I tried everything to get you to stop.

I quickly figured out you'd only stop if I said I would be your friends. So, I did and we have been friends ever since. From then on, I knew this friendship would be the most dramatic roller coaster I have been on in my entire life. I wasn't wrong. But I have loved every minute of it.

We have been through a lot together. We went through our ugly phases together so let's face it, we're bound for life. You've been my best friend since the day I met you and I truthfully would not have had it any other way. We started out as two very different people but over time have essentially become one in the same.

You used to be very quiet and well mannered but now you're louder and way more sarcastic than I am. I also got you into saying some pretty weird sayings and awful things that I probably shouldn't have taught you.

I used to hate show tunes and now, because of you, I have been in 4 musicals and have a Broadway playlist on my phone. You taught me how to have a bit more patience instead of absolutely losing my mind. You've also managed to turn me into a total dork that sings in the toy aisles of grocery stores.

You have been with me through all of my crazy boy phases and troubles. You've been there to give me the "mom look" every time I do something I know was stupid. But, you've also been there to hold me when I cry. Heck, sometimes you cry with me. You've been there to amp me up when I am in a blind rage and going off about someone or something that you don't understand.

We have been in choirs and shows together since the sixth grade and I couldn't have asked for a better literal or metaphorical dance partner. You always have me by the hands explaining to me whats going on step by step and while I am sure you frequently get frustrated, you haven't given up on me yet.

We are basically an old married couple. We eat together, we watch movies together, we fight in grocery stores, and we rarely ever agree on anything important. But I wouldn't change our relationship for the world.

Even though we fight a lot and we can rarely ever agree on the most important of topics, you've been my person since the say I met you. The Evie to my Mal, the Betty to my Veronica. We are both completely different but also shockingly similar in the best of ways.

You have also become the person I know I'll always have in life. We joke that we're going to grow old together but we both know it's probably going to happen. I don't think I could go through life without my little blonde other half there to mom me every once in a while. I love you, Lil' Bean.

Love,

Lexi-Beth