I've never really met my best friend.

I mean, sure, we text pretty much constantly, and we FaceTime as frequently as possible, but we've never met each other in person. We've never even been able to hug each other. Of course, we really want to! I would love to be able to hug her anytime she's having a rough day. Unfortunately, there are roughly 550 miles between us.

We met on Tumblr in October last year, after realizing we shared a love for the nerds that make up the band Bastille. Throughout that first month, we learned that we had a lot more than just Bastille in common! We also loved Taylor Swift, Parks and Recreation, Doctor Who, and Supernatural, among other things. We discovered we had similar religious beliefs as well, which was incredibly wonderful. I live in a small town in Tennessee, so "liberal Christian" isn't usually accepted. She not only accepted my beliefs, she shared them.

It didn't take long for us to reach "best friend" status. Pretty much from the start, I felt like I could share anything with her and not worry about being judged. Maybe it was the distance because it is easy to admit embarrassing things when you don't have to see the person face-to-face, but I believe it had more to do with the fact that it almost immediately felt like we were meant to be friends. The only problem is the distance.

I don't mean to sound whiny, because I'm pretty lucky. I strongly believe that it is possible to have more than one best friend, and I am lucky enough to have another wonderful, brilliant, supportive BFF just a half hour drive away. I'm not completely alone without my long distance bestie. But that doesn't stop me from wishing I could actually be in the same place as her.

Luckily, that'll change soon! At the end of May 2018, I will be traveling around 550 miles to visit her.

As I'm writing this, the countdown app on my phone (which I downloaded for this specific occasion) is roughly at twenty-seven days and eighteen hours until I can finally meet my best friend. Twenty-seven days and eighteen hours until I can finally hug her, laugh with her, and cry with her. We even get to sing along with Taylor Swift songs at a concert together! I'm sure there will be a LOT of joyful tears, and I'll be surprised if we're ever able to let go of each other once we finally get that first hug.

Long distance friendships are hard, but some people are definitely worth the struggle. We are lucky enough to be in the same time zone, so that makes things a bit easier, but that isn't the case for everyone. The only way we can ever "hang out" is through FaceTime, so that has to be scheduled around wifi access. We've been best friends for almost 7 months, but we still haven't been able to do basic BFF things like watch movies together, go out for dinner together, or binge-watch our favorite shows while sharing junk food on the couch. But we will soon!

The countdown for meeting my best friend is on. Just twenty-seven days, seventeen hours, twenty-two minutes. . . . .