At the ripe old age of 12-years-old, I learned a lesson that most adults in my life had never learned—you can be friends with people of opposing beliefs.

As crazy as that sounds, two 12-year-olds understood that there can be a mutual respect between people who don't see eye to eye. Our friendship has withstood the test of time and only further confirmed that two wildly different people can bring out the best in each other.

So when you give a liberal a conservative best friend, you give her someone to sit across the table from her and not only listen to the ideologies that so vehemently oppose her own, but try to understand how she feels, and a friendship that is there to stay. As much as my beliefs define who I am, they do not define the kind of friend that I can or can't be to someone. My little Republican has been my hero more times than she knows. I don't have to agree with her to be in awe of her dedication and resolve.

When you give a liberal a conservative best friend, you give her someone she can still call her during a midnight breakdown. I can still talk to her about boys and school and even how I'm feeling about the current political climate. When we were little middle school babies, nothing was off limits and now that we have moved into adulthood, nothing has changed. Our parents still don't get it and have let their differences drive a divide between the once high school friends.

When you give a liberal a conservative friend, you give them both a future bridesmaid. She is one of the strongest people in my life and I am lucky to have her and all of her opinions- even the ones I don't agree with. Don't sell yourself short of what may be one of the greatest friendships in your life because you fail to open your mind to all that a person is.