I met my best guy friend spring semester of my freshman year at the College of Charleston. He lived down the hall from me and originally when we met, I just kind of looked at him like, "who is this kid and why is he in my living room?"

I lived with my RA, Room Assistant, my freshman year — she knew all the ins and outs of our dorm. What was going wrong and who got in trouble and who was having trouble. Although a lot of information was kept a secret from me because of her job responsibilities, I did learn that this guy down the hall was having trouble living with his suitemates.

The common college student parties all night and gets into irresponsible chaos, but this special guy did not. Weird, right?

A few nights a week, this guy that I did not know would sleep on the futon that I brought from home so that he could get a good nights rest and actually succeed in college.

His name is Eli and we've now known each other for an entire year now. He still sleeps on my couch, but now he's advanced to eating my food too.

Eli came to lunch with me one time when my parents were in town and my mom mouthed to me, "Do you like him?" And, I so lovingly blurted out, "That's disgusting mom. Eli is like my brother. That's so gross."

My sister says I've friend zoned him, but it's really true when I say that guys and girls can really just be friends.

Recently, I had to go to the emergency room and they told me if I threw up that I needed to go back. Well, I called Eli and he sprinted from the pineapple fountain to McConnell Dorm (which is all the way across Charleston) ran up two flights of stairs, stormed into my room, forced me back down the stairs and drove safely, but very quickly to the hospital.

When I need to go to the grocery store or I'm starving, Eli is always there to go with me or to eat with me.

For some reason, he trusts me to drive his truck without him in it. He even made me a spare key so that if I ever need his truck I can use it.

Eli loves the color orange more than most people like their favorite food. This makes it easy for me to find him in a crowd or just walking down a street.

He laughs at all my jokes and tells me when I'm wrong, even when I'm right I'm wrong.

Now, before someone reading says anything about him actually being in the friend zone, Eli has a wonderful girlfriend.

To sum it up, Eli is one of the greatest people to enter into my life. He has unknowingly created a standard for any man that comes into my life with a potential of a relationship because if Eli can be so amazing and just be my friend, then you bet your ass that my future boyfriend better up-one Eli.

Eli, thanks for being my best friend, my brother, my ride or die and my emergency contact. You're the brother I've always wanted and the friend I didn't know I needed.

I don't know who I would be today if you never walked into 201 McConnell that day and asked me to paint you something orange.