Dear High School Best Friends,

Wow, freshman year of college is almost over. How have we survived without seeing each other every day, for the past seven months? Yes we FaceTime, and yes we text, but watching a "Grey's Anatomy" episode together over FaceTime just is not the same. I miss the times we sat in each other's living rooms with all of our dogs and ate a bunch of slutty brownies. Now, I see how much fun y'all are having through the crazy snapchat stories with your new people, and sometimes I cannot help but feel that I am being replaced. I see the glorious Instagram posts with all of the new friends and I sit there wishing it was me next to you. The change has definitely been difficult for each one of us, but no matter what, we are always there for one another. Although some of us stayed and some of us left, we always find our way back home.

We have spent five days a week together for four years. We have seen each other's just-got-out-of-bed look, with our famous crazy buns. Not going to lie, I was afraid my new college friends might run the other way seeing my crazy-scary, totally horrifying morning face or hearing my incessantly out-of-tune show tunes. Yet, it seems that everyone in college has the same disheveled morning look and lack of talent that I do. From crazy buns to being dressed up, from chill Sundays to hectic finals week, we have seen each other at our best and our worst. I would not have it any other way. Since we are all spread out across the US, we now have different friends that share this experience with us. I realized that our new friends will never replace the bond we have. They will take care of us the way we take care of each other and fill the space when we are gone. They will make sure you look your best and they will wear crazy buns with you too.

As far as Austin, Texas to Boston, Massachusetts and all in between, our bonds have only grown stronger as we have been forced, to not only enter a new unexplored world, but also, still hold on to our old one. It is no secret that it is hard to start over in a new city and a new state. You have to force yourself out of your comfort zone and make new friends. We have to open up to new people and let them get to know us, which we probably forgot how to do because we did not have to do it for such a long time. But now, at the end of our first college year, we have met new people and learned new skills, like how to pull an all nighter, and have gone through life-changing experiences. Sadly, we did not experience these with each other, but that is all right because now, we get to spend the summer with each other. I hope each one of you had an amazing year and although we made different friends, no one will ever ever replace you. You are my best friends and nothing will ever change that.

Love,

Your High School Best Friend