Dear Best Friend,

I want to start off by saying I miss you dearly. We don't talk as much as we used to, but that will never change the fact that you will always be my best friend. Our parents have been friends for so long and that's how you came into my life, and I'm happy that it happened this way. We live about five hours apart, but that didn't stop us from having summers together or hanging out. I have so many memories that you're in, and I hope there are more to come. We are basically adopted into each other's families.

As I sit here, I think about how much I miss our fun-filled summer – although it didn't start out during the summer. It started when I didn't have a date to prom and I awkwardly texted you and asked you if you would come with me. You said yes. Since our moms are such good friends, it was so much talk about the dress and colors and planning the weekend. The unexpected happened and I got mono the week of prom and was so upset that there was a possibility that it wouldn't happen, but you were always telling me to just relax and get better. Talking to you always put me in a good mood, and it still does. You were amazing and drove five hours to come to prom with me and I introduced you to my friends – no shock, but they loved you. You didn't dance much, but it was fun anyway. After prom we waited for school to end and then I asked you to come with me to a concert on the beach. You came to me and I drove us down to the beach and I was so excited. I think you were too, but sometimes I can't tell with you. You were such a champ. It started raining and I was prepared to stay rain or shine, then I looked over and you're bouncing up and down to music that neither of us knew with chattering teeth. I decided to go home even though you never complained about it. My favorite part of the summer was when we went to Mexico with your parents. I knew you were my best friend when you sat on the plane with me and used the ear buds of mine even though they made your ears hurt because I wanted you to listen to the Twenty-One Pilots album. We were together 24/7. We played pool and I'm happy you never let me win, other than that one time because you felt bad for me. We spent our days by the water feeding all the wild iguanas and making sure neither of us burned. We always came back later than your parents, which is when I learned you and your dad both talk in your sleep. Oddly enough I responded to you, which is weird because I don't talk in my sleep.

About a week or two after that, we went to my favorite place on earth – your lake house. We spent the Fourth of July with your friend and parents, we watched the fireworks on the boat and we went to the drive-in theater. When we had the week there, just the two of us, we made dinner together and ate the salad right out of the salad bowl, went on boat rides every morning, played card games or watched movies every night. The car rides home were always fun between music, chatting and all the laughter.

The point of this letter today is to say that I miss all of our good times together. I know it got harder for us because you went to school so far away and we both became busy. I want to say that I miss how you used to chase your cat around your house. I miss how I talk enough for the both of us and when we are in the car, you talk about other cars and I pretend to understand what you are talking about. I miss how I make fun of you for not eating anything green other than salad and how you drink creamer from the container in the fridge like I do. The day I saw you do that, you looked at me with that little awkward face you make and we both laughed and went on our way. I miss seeing a new burst of 800 photos of your awkwardness on my phone. You taught me how to snowboard -- well, kind of. You and your brother forced me to go down the hill and never left my side, which I both loved and hated. My point is you may be a very quiet person, but you're one of the good ones. You have a great personality and you're very funny and amazingly smart. We don't talk very much now, but I hope that we can get back to being as close as we used to be.

I love you, best friend.

Love, your best friend