In my 19 years, I've had a few best friends. All of them guys, all of them from the same friends group, all from the same town. Until I met a best friend a couple of years ago who happened to be a girl.

I've felt the pressures of the world over my shoulder, telling me that a guy and a girl cannot truly be "just friends." For so long, I didn't want to believe this. Until one day, I realized, the world was right. A guy and a girl can't be "just friends," because "friends" is such an arbitrary title to begin with. It didn't give this relationship nearly the credit it's worth. Because let's face it, if a guy and a girl can stay friends through thick and thin, against all odds, it's hard to put into words just how special that bond is.

So yes, one of my best friends just happens to be a girl. And yes, she is beautiful. In fact, she's gorgeous, but she's mostly gorgeous because I know her. I get to know her more and more every time I'm around her crazy self. She's puts an instant smile on my face, and I do hers. She comes to me with anything, as do I to her, and we have deep, meaningful conversations. The kind of conversations that make your soul lighten up from the heavy load of questions and doubt that this wicked world conjures. She means so much to me, and I know I mean a great deal to her, which makes our relationship all the more mutually sweet.

And that's the thing... Being in this deep of a friendship with someone of the opposite sex is not that much different from me being really close with one of my guy friends. Some people may find that strange, but when you take a step back, take away the body, all we have are our souls. Our souls simply collide and enjoy that company, that drive to be better people that we provide for one another.

One night, as we were finishing up dinner, we looked at each other, and I stopped and the following sentence came out: "We have a romantic relationship." I further explained myself quickly after that, but she didn't flinch after I said it anyway. She just listened as I continued:

"Romance doesn't have to be about sex, possessiveness, or a title. It's what we do all the time. We go out together, eat, have coffee, sing, dance, have conversation, and have a blast with each other without anything else desired."

Romance, furthermore, is being satisfied with the other person merely existing by your side. It's about looking inward and making a choice to treat a friend the way you would want to be treated and then going the extra mile.

I think the most important part about having this friendship in particular is learning this truth as I go along. Learning to talk with someone, and learning about them while I take care of them as best as I can. Isn't that what the purest form of love is? Providing for your friend. Laying down your life for them to keep them out of harms way, making them first before yourself.

I'm thankful that God has given me this friend, because even though she can drive me crazy (the best kind of crazy), it's her that keeps me sane in times where I feel like I can come undone. And the best part is, she's always just a phone call or a text away. That's Christ-like love, and I'm thankful to have felt that in its most innocent nature in this life.

In my 19 years, I've had a few best friends. But none of them have been as sweet, honest, and as accepting as her.