"We're friends, real friends. And that means, no matter how long it takes, when you finally decide to look back, I'll still be there." - Meredith from "Grey's Anatomy."

The perfect friendship is something that some people wish for. It can take years and years to find your "person" in life. I have to say I got pretty lucky. I met my person in seventh grade. I wouldn't take that year back for anything.

It had not been an easy year for me. First year in middle school felt like a horror story in the making. I was a small shy girl with braces who was terrified to even give a presentation in a class. I had pretty much drifted from one group of friends to another trying to find a place to fit in. Moving lunch table to lunch table was never something I enjoyed.

Though, one invitation changed my life forever. A birthday party towards the end of January changed my life for the better.

At the party I officially met Abbie. I should have known her before. She was in my math class and rode my bus, but we had never talked before. We hung out during the party. It was a night filled with jokes and laughter.

Over the course of the next couple months, we talked more and sat together on the bus. Our bond over books pretty much solidified a budding friendship. We became inseparable, and I could not be happier about it. We shared so many interests like more books, movies, and a love for writing.

I never thought this quirky and strange girl would become my best friend. Our friendship has not always been perfect. It has been filled with it's ups and downs. Does not every friendship have it's fights though? Sure, there's been times we stopped talking to each other, but then something important happens and the need to share it is too strong. The most important thing about our friendship is that we are always there for each other.

It has been over five years of friendship and a lot has changed. I lost my braces and gained glasses instead. She is not as strange as I used to think she was though she still has her moments. We both started out as shy introverts, but we both kind of made that change with each other.

My unwillingness to really talk in the beginning led Abbie to having to be more talkative in order to actual form a friendship. For me, it was her dragging me to a theater audition, our junior year. Her pushing into that moment allowed me another way to express myself and begin to break out of my ever solid bubble.

We have had other friendship within our group come and go, but we have always had each other. She's seen me at my worst and vice versa. She has been there when I cried or needed advice. Honesty with one another is the very basis of our strong friendships. We've gone through obstacles and have always had each other's backs. We've been there through all the boys, school stress, high school drama, all the future career changes and more.

She's never given up on me, even when I have wanted to give up on myself. She's pushed me to a better me. She's always there to get me to try and achieve my dream. For instance, I would probably would not have had the courage to make this account if she did not convince me I should. She's taught me that you cannot please everyone and you have to do what makes you happy.It's scary to think where I might be if we had never became friends. I feel like I'd be in an even darker place. She came into my life at a time when I needed someone the most. I hope I have been the same thing for her. She has kept me on a path that I may have wondered off without her. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for our friendship as we head towards being college roommates and starting our adult lives.

I wouldn't be me without my person.