Freshman year of college is stressful. You are moving out and learning how to be independent. You are in complete control of your life and to top it off you have to live with a random person. Random roommates can either be the best thing to happen in your college experience or the worst. I was lucky enough to have a good experience with my first roommate and she is now one of my best friends. Although we have talked about how we became friends and how our relationship progressed from awkward to nothing is off limits, there has never been a time that I thanked her for everything she did for me in my first year of college.

We must start at the beginning: Thank you for being the brave one and texting the number on your roommate card to start the conversation. I would have just secretly stalked you on social media and waited to meet you on the move in day, but you took that first step to breaking the ice. Of course, texting that number started the awkward ball rolling due to the fact that it was my mom’s, but that first awkward encounter is now something we can look back at and laugh about.

Thank you for being so calm on move-in day. We both had weird situations going on with our parents, and four emotional parents and two scared freshmen do not mix well. You stayed so calm and got everything under control, and I always wondered how you kept your cool for so long on that day. Thank you for starting conversations with me after our parents left and we sat in our new home without a word. I am way too awkward to start conversations and I had no clue what to talk about until you jumped in.

Thank you for going to study with me and never actually studying. This is when we started to get close and opened our relationship; I found out how similar we were. We soon branched out to other friends, but you were still the one I talked to about everything other than the weather and classes. These conversations progressed into late night talks and were the main reason I missed my 8 a.m. on so many times, but I wouldn't change it for anything. The more we talked we became even closer and even weirder.

Thank you for hugs and late night Oreo's when I was crying about stupid boys. I could always count on you to be there for me no matter what. You were my roommate but also my best friend whom I told everything to. It could be four in the afternoon or two in the morning, and you would always be there to cheer me up, even if you had 5 a.m. practice to wake up for. You always knew what to say to remind me that boys do dumb things and they are not worth my tears.

Thank you for understanding my depression and anxiety. I always knew it would cause problems and that only caused me more anxious. You never questioned me or looked at me like I was crazy, you simply helped me through it. This includes a solid month of me not wanting to leave our room, but instead of judging me like most, you sat with me and watched all nine seasons of "Criminal Minds." Seriously, thank you. Not only did you help me getting through one of the hardest times in my life, but you also shared my love for Reid and Morgan so obviously we are best friends.

But, I want to thank you mainly for sticking around. So many people fade in and out of your life and its so easy to let a friendship fade when you are no longer living together. You didn't let that happen. Thank you for always being a phone call away. Thank you for telling me all the crazy stuff that is happening in your life. Thank you for understanding and listening. Thank you for driving to come see me, and thank you for giving me reality checks when I need them. But most of all, thank you for just being my friend.