Well, our freshman year is coming to a close. It went by so fast, it doesn’t even seem real.

Isn’t it crazy that a year ago we didn’t even know each other? I look back and wonder how the hell did I survive? How did I not spend every waking moment of my life without you there? We are always together, from sunrise to way beyond sunset. You are literally a text away. Our synced up schedules require a message simply saying “?” for you to know I want you to meet me for coffee in the usual place.

I was alone my first week of school. I walked to and from class by myself and one day I was tired of it. I was sick of feeling lonely, and I was ready to go back to my room and cry to my mom about how I wanted to come home. I heard someone call my name from behind me -- and there you were. You basically saved me from a long hard cry that you know so well.

You have filled my year with wonderful laughter and support. I’m so lucky to have friends who spend hours upon hours with me in the library (especially when I’m grumpy.)

I’m so grateful to have friends who bring me food when I don’t want to get out of bed from a long day. I’m so happy to call such amazing people my best friends.

I always had my tight-knit group of friends back home. We were best friends since kindergarten. I didn’t really believe that you could make friends fast, which is why college scared me.

I didn’t think I was going to make friends at all, and then you guys came into my life. You all saw me in a way that nobody has ever seen me—vulnerable and scared of the future. We kind of all saw each other that way.

This was a new, unfamiliar place, and we leaned on each other for that feeling of security—that feeling of safety and love. You are always there to make me feel that feeling of home while I was away from home.

I have so much to thank my college best friends for. You don’t realize the huge impact you have had on my life. I didn’t know I could love someone as fast as I came to love you.

When you spend every second with someone, that love grows pretty quickly.

If I needed you, you were there. From every jerk that hurt our hearts, to every test that broke our spirits, we always had each other’s backs.

You were there at 3 a.m. to listen to me cry, and you were there to be my wing-woman on nights when I was feeling less than perfect.

Thank you for listening to my endless problems. Thank you for making me laugh wildly. Thank you for being you.

When we are at each other’s weddings, I swear I will refrain from showing your husband the videos I have of you on your not-so-best nights. (Yes, I still have them even after you yelled at me to delete them.) When we see each other next year, I will probably cry pure happiness. I’m so excited for what our futures hold.

What would I do without you? Well, I guess we will never know. Congratulations, you are stuck with me for the next three years.