Growing up, I was never one to "get all the boys."

Sure, I have had a few here and there. My first crush, which then lead to the first kiss, and down the line until the first heartbreak.

But other than that, I've never really been the "girl," but I've always the friend.

And a lot of people (girls in particular) probably see this as a bad thing. "Good enough to be your friend, but nothing more?" Mostly, people define this as the "friend zone" which is supposedly a sad, lonely place.

But to me, the "friend zone" has been the exact opposite.

Friendships between girls and boys have been seen as "possibly liking each other" since we were young. Starting with second grade where it was assumed that you had a crush on a boy simply because you told him you thought his dinosaur t-shirt was cool. Then moving to middle school, when people thought a boy only texted you if he wanted you to be his girlfriend.

But, it was never about the boys falling in love with me. It was just about them being my friend.

And because of this mindset, some of the greatest friends I have are guys.

So to all you girls who agree with this notion, raise your glass to this unpopular opinion: the fact that I was always considered every boy's friend and not their crush, is my favorite part of me.

No, I never was the "talk of the night" about how hot I was looking, but I was with all the boys when they decided to have a rap battle. I didn't have my phone constantly being blown up with texts and Snapchats, but I was the one my guy friends called for to ask advice. I wasn't the girl who they were all trying to "get with" at the party, but I was the girl they called at 2 p.m. to come over to watch Criminal Minds with.

So this is for the guys who never treated me anything less than "one of the boys" and letting me eat all of the food in their houses. For constantly putting me in my place when I overreacted and always listening to my girl problems. For being my partner in beer pong and not feeling disadvantaged because I was a girl.

And to everyone who always doubted all of these friendships and said that we were just "secretly hooking up," I'm sorry to tell you that you've been wrong all these years. While you've been the type of girls the boys I call my friends obsess over, I've been the girl they look to spend time with. I've been their moral support and the person they call when they just need someone to talk to.

But to all the boys that have stuck by my side throughout the years without thinking for a second of being more than my friend, thank you.

Thank you, for allowing me to always be the "friend" and never the girl.