They say that girls shouldn't hang out in threes because inevitably someone will end up feeling left out or pushed to the side. I saw this a lot growing up, and as fate would have it, I always seemed to be the third wheel.

Here's how it always went down: I'd be friends with two people and slowly they'd start growing closer to each other and eventually there was no hope of me being as close with them as they were with each other.

In high school, I started to shift away from groups of friends. I had one best friend and a few other close friends, and that was it. I limited who I let into my life because I didn't want someone coming in and displacing me in my own friendships.

I met Emily in the seventh grade when we both played volleyball for our school team. I knew right away that she'd be someone I'd have a lasting friendship with. We got close, and I'd even venture to say that she became my best friend throughout middle school and into high school.

I met Bean during my freshman year of high school. We had mutual friends, we sat at the same table at lunch, and we had a few classes together. She was extremely witty, outgoing, and she had a very carefree vibe about her. (I'll admit, at first I thought she was way too cool for me). Slowly but surely, Bean and I became good friends as well, and I was happy to have another person in my life that I could count on.

Then, seemingly overnight, Emily and Bean formed this bond that I knew I couldn't compete with. They were inseparable. They had the kind of friendship that little kids dream of, the room-together-in-college and get-matching-tattoos kind. And as they grew closer, I grew more distant. I stood around waiting for the other shoe to drop. I braced myself to once again be pushed away and made to be a third wheel.

I kept waiting and waiting for it to happen, for them to unconsciously make the decision that I was less important because now they had their new friendship. For them to stop including me, stop making jokes with me, hell, maybe even stop talking to me altogether. I waited, but it never happened.

We're getting ready to start our second year of college, and it still hasn't happened. And by now, I've stopped expecting that it will. However strong their friendship is, I've never once felt like a third wheel. I've never felt less included, less heard, or less important. They're two of my best friends, and that hasn't changed because they also happen to be best friends.

Taylor Rose

Maybe it's because I knew them both separately before they became best friends, or maybe it's because we're older and no longer have the desire to be caught up in drama and pettiness. Whatever it is, I'm so thankful for it. I never expected to be as close with them as I am now, but I guess that's the power of love and friendship for you.

I have a different relationship with both of them, and I wouldn't change anything about our friendship dynamic for the world. They always have me laughing, and they've given me some of the best advice I've ever gotten. And they're two of the few people I know I can count on to listen day or night, whether we're in the same room or two hours away from each other.

I've watched their friendship grow and change, and I'm thankful they met and have the bond that they do. From where the three of us started to where we are now, is just proof that everything will work out exactly the way it's supposed to.

If you're hesitant of going into friendships because you're afraid of being left out, my advice is to try it anyway. Hopefully, you'll luck out and make friends that you'll have for life. And if things don't work out, at least you tried, and they probably weren't the right people for you anyway.

They say that girls shouldn't hang out in threes, but in this case, I'm so glad I did.