She has been with me through it all; the laughs, the tears, the good times and the bad times. In a culture where all too often it can be looked upon as lame for a teenage boy to share a close bond with his mother, I’ve never been prouder to say that my mom is my best friend.

She is the one I turn to whenever skies turn gray, whenever I see a funny picture that I know she’ll love too or even when I just want someone to talk to. Complete with the pink hearts marking our Snapchat best friend-ship, she is also the one I have an 88 day streak with because yes, she is just that cool.

Though college is brimming with opportunity and I’m having the time of my life, I often find myself missing our much too frequent tradition of picking a show on Netflix and dropping everything else to binge watch it with each other. Together, we have been Tree Hill basketball stars, worked for Annalise Keating, gotten revenge with Amanda Clarke and most importantly we have completed what I like to think of as the triple ‘G’ challenge: "Gossip Girl," "Gilmore Girls" and of course, "Grey’s Anatomy," thus giving a grand (and a bit terrifying) total of 39 seasons together. While to many that may sound excessive, I have cherished every moment with her because throughout each episode (and death that Shonda Rhimes inevitably plagued us with), we forged a bond of mother and son strong enough to rival Lorelai and Rory. Watching Netflix at school is simply not the same without her singing the theme songs and quoting the scripts alongside me.

Fraught with dinners just the two of us, swim meets galore, and countless games of Yahtzee, I know that our relationship is special, that it is rare. I cherish every moment of it because through our time spent together I have learned how to laugh, how to love and so many other countless things that I can’t thank her enough for.

Truly, she is one of the most inspiring and uplifting persons that I have ever encountered and I feel blessed each and every day to be her son. She has taught me so much about what it means to be a decent person in an often indecent time. I hear her mantras “because nice matters” and “you are a chooser in this life” guiding me wherever I go.

With a spirit electric as lightning and joy breathtakingly boundless, she instantly brightens up any room that she walks in to (sometimes even before she walks in because you can hear her singing down the hall). Lovingly, she brought me up in the ways of the Lord and seeing her steadfast faith even in times of despair makes me long to have such unfailing conviction as her. Though I have left for college and no longer see her every day, the great times shared and the lessons taught will always remain with me like a handprint on my heart as I begin a new chapter in my life.

Mom, I am honored to call you my best friend; our friendship makes me feel richer than both the Waldorf’s and the Van der Woodsen’s because you are my person and where you lead, I will follow you.

To the moon and back,

Love you, Mama