We haven’t seen each other since the beginning of February, and it’s been way too long. I’ve known you since third grade when we played on the same basketball team, but I was so awkward that I didn’t become your friend until middle school. It even took until freshman year of high school for us to become full-fledged best friends. The good times, the bad, the ugly and the best all happened with you by my side. Now, as we’re about to enter into our final year at our colleges, it’s impossible for me not to reminisce about our past.

I will always remember the day we found out we were related, because who gets to tell that kind of story? It was spring, our sophomore year of high school, and we were eating some hot dogs at the Root Beer Stand. The train went roaring on by behind us with the logo of the Barnum and Bailey’s Circus on the side. My mom and your dad both noted that they had a cousin that was in the circus. Both of which did work with the elephants. Both of which were tragically trampled by said elephants.

Now that’s just too weird to have happened to two people.

After a few phone calls later, we found out that it was, in fact, the same woman, and we are related. Something between third and fifth cousins, but related. And then we realized that we couldn’t really get rid of each other (sucker!).

Now, I go to Miami University and you go to Ohio State — oh, pardon me, THE Ohio State — University. We only get to see each other a handful of times throughout the year but man are those times memorable. I was there to see you dye your hair a different color for the first time; you were there for me when I got my favorite piercings. Although we may miss some of the other big moments along the way, we try our hardest to be there for each other.

I hate that we can’t see each other every day of the week like we did in high school, and I hate the fact that we don’t live 10 minutes away from each other most of the time. I do love the fact that even though we’re always apart, it feels like you're sitting right across the table from me most of the time.

I'm going to be spending the majority of my summer in Kansas, while you’re in Columbus and Cincinnati, and I have no worries that our streak of continued long-distance friendship will continue to thrive.

I love that I can call you at four in the morning crying over something silly and you actually pick up the phone and calm me down. I love that whenever I have a panic attack you know the right things to do in order to bring me back down and continue on with my day.

We know the good, bad and ugly about each other, and I think that makes us pretty darn beautiful.

I miss late-night Applebee’s runs with you gossiping about anything and everything that we saved for telling each other in person.

I know you’ll always be there for me, just like I’ll always be there for you, even though the distance sucks. I hope one day while you’re living in the country, I’ll be living in the nearest city where we can sit on the porch and drink iced tea while our dogs play in the lawn.

Miss and Love you Always,

Your fav