“Piece by piece he collected me, off the ground where you abandoned things.”

While I was growing up, I didn’t have many friends. It wasn’t by choice, but it was just because the people who I was forced to be with in school and other activities didn’t have much in common with me. I was made fun of for just being myself. I was lonely for most of my life. That all changed in 2010, when, unknowingly, I met my best friend.

Little did I know that this random kid I met at a high school football game would become something I wanted for about 15 years. I could remember when I was younger just dreaming that one day I would find that best friend. It seemed like everyone else I knew had one, so for me to have one was like getting a new puppy on Christmas day.

We clicked instantly. We have things in common and we just get each other. I honestly think we balance each other out. But the main reason why he means so much to me is because even through all the crap I put him through, he manages to stick around and stay by my side.

The quote is from Kelly Clarkson's song "Piece by Piece." It's about a father who walks out of a child's life, and then that child grows up and finds someone who will stay. Since I still have my parents in my life, I relate to that song in a totally different way. I relate it to those people who have walked away from my life and never looked back. Those people don't matter to me anymore, because piece by piece, my best friend filled the holes and healed the scars that those people caused me.

He was, and still is, the first friend who isn't fake to me. He's that friend who doesn't hold back and tells me straight up like it is. We don't hold back how we are feeling. If I need to vent or cry, I know I always can call or see him.

He knows how much he means to me. But what I don't think he knows is that he saved me from sadness, despair and a horrible depression I was in for many years before he came into my life. He really did save my life.

He accepts me. Every part of me. It's something even six years later I’m still getting used to. He’s like my brother — no, he is my brother. The fact that after six years we talk every day is amazing. Just a few days ago, we hung out and he kept calling me his best friend. His number one friend to be exact. Now, to be called that is a huge honor for me, since no one has called me that before. It's something that made me high with happiness. And to this day, I am constantly reminded that my best friend is here to stay.