When you’re starting school, every kid you have class with you consider a friend. When you transition to middle school and high school your circle seems to slowly get smaller and smaller because you grow closer to a particular group of friends, and they’ve become your best friends. These are the friends you know would never talk behind your back and that are always there for you when life gets tough—even if your pet goldfish died. They are that kind of friend.

Tough times are the test to see who your real friends are. You know that if they stay, then they're the friends you need to keep. If they run at the first sight of a struggling moment in your life, then they were not meant to be there. It may seem harsh but you know in the long run you are better off without the friends who took off and left you at your darkest hour when you needed them the most.

Best friends are genuine and love you even with all your flaws, give you advice without sugar coating it, give you a shoulder to cry on and have your back no matter what. These are the friends who will blow their diet to eat ice cream with you at 2 a.m. while watching your favorite chick flick or horror movie all because they know it’s the little things that count. They will let you collapse on their shoulder or lap when you can no longer hold back the tears. Or they will share laughter with you on the happy days.

They will bring you your favorite chocolate, snacks and drinks when you and your boyfriend break up and will trash talk him with you because they know it will make you feel better, and let’s face it, they probably hated him anyway. Your best friend is a friend who does not judge you if you drink wine every night, eat five cheeseburgers and fries and take naps every single day. Because, in reality, they are probably sitting right next to you doing the exact same things.

Best friends are the people who know what to say, when to say it or when not to say anything at all, but just hug you because sometimes a hug can make that big of a difference.These girls are the girls who would do anything to make you smile and cheer you up if you’ve had a rough day. It could be a text, phone call, a funny picture or video but they know that it can be the one thing that will turn your day around and turn that frown upside down or make you burst out laughing awkwardly in public.

Your best friend will explore new places with you, take silly pictures and post them, make you birthday collages, cook with you because you both know that your friendship most definitely includes your love for food (especially in the case that both of you cannot cook), and there are always late night runs to your favorite places. These girls will be the girls that will go through school and college with you and even stick around after college. They may even be your bridesmaid someday. They become more like your sister than your friend because you’ve been through so much with them and grew that much closer because of the tough times as well as all the happy, funny and awkward times.

In the end, you become a better person because of the friends you have. They push you to be your best, cheer you on in your success, support you in all your decisions, never judge you, and most importantly they love you because YOU ARE YOU. Flaws and all, they will still love you, and those are the kind of friends who last a lifetime.

Your best friend is also like your sister, your “person” (as "Grey's" tells us), partner in crime and your other half. And that’s my favorite kind of best friend.