When I was in high school, I never really had “that person.” The person that you could chug Surge with, make peculiar sounds with that cause people to look at you both thinking something is wrong, and the one that can always turn into an unqualified therapist. I met my first great friend at work and about six months into having my job, we became really close.

My friend and I are fairly inseparable now. I’m incredibly grateful to have found her now. We both have pretty similar schedules so we can do things like going out to dinner and hitting up the local shopping malls. It’s a fun time to work with your friend as well because you always have each others backs and are able to help each other.

I know that when I first started serving at the restaurant I work at, she was one of my biggest supporters and always checked on me if I needed help. Literally, one of the first days I was on the floor she always asked if I was doing okay or if I was too stressed out and needed help running food or checking on tables. Never in my mind did I ever think I would get that lucky with a friend. Not to mention, we always have a really good time together. I never really got that feeling from people I hung out with in my high school years. I never had a friend that I could talk to and relate with so much. I would definitely say that she is one of the main reasons I love my job.

It’s the people like my friend here that make my job so wonderful and make it like a second home for people like me who didn’t necessarily fit in most places. I can say that in high school, I never fit in with my classmates. I’ve had a different job before and I can’t say that I was ever really comfortable there. But my work holds my second family.

I love the fact that my friend is so goofy and that she is so endlessly kind. I love that my friend is completely herself and comfortable being who she is. I love that my friend and I have such a wonderful connection...we just seem to get one another.

We also have a habit of Snapchat storytimes. We will religiously have 130 second Snapchat rails of our day or issues going on around us. It’s comforting because we are always able to talk each other down or talk each other up no matter what scenario.

Being so close to her, I’ve realized how wonderful true friendship can be when you bond with the right human being. You always have that person that you can text and ask for advice from, the person that is always down to hang, and the person that you can have the most odd inside jokes with.

To you, my wonderful friend, I want to say that I completely appreciate you being there from every up and down. I am so inherently grateful to call you someone that I can see myself being best buddies with for a very long time. My heart is fuller now that we have a strong, established friendship.

With as many cyber hearts and smiley faces as I can lend you (<3 , :)) I wanna thank you for always being there. I know I’m always here for you in advance with open arms and loads of advice.