For the last 5 years, you have been my rock. You have been my moral compass, my confidant, my sounding board, my therapist, and most importantly, my go-to-girl. I always know that you will be nothing but honest with me, even if the truth is harsh. You are the first person to tell me when I’m going down a wrong path, and the first person to pick me up when I’m down. You have a wisdom and a genuine kindness that most of the world lacks, and for that I feel truly lucky that I can call you my friend.

You knew who I was before I even knew myself. When we were in high school I was not a confident kid. This meant that going away to college was one of the most horrifying things for me. I worried every day about things like “What if I don’t get along with my roommate?”, “What if I don’t make friends?”, “What if I don’t fit in?”, “What if I get homesick?”. Questions like this haunted me every day that summer. However, one thing made me believe that somehow it was all going to be okay: you. I wasn’t sure of too many things at this point in my life, but I did know this: that you had great wisdom, far beyond your years, and that you would never lie to me. Countless times that summer you told me how wonderful you thought I was, how college was going to be so great for me, and how you just knew that I would find my people and “truly blossom”, as you described it. In all my worry and angst, your words stuck with me; they made me believe that I could make it, that I was doing the right thing by going away to school.

Since then, you have been my rock through everything. No matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other, or how far apart in the world we are, I know that we are always there for each other. Even if it’s been three months since we’ve so much as texted, I know that I can call you up with a crisis and be able to count on you. And, judging by the number of 3am phone calls I get from you with your own crisis’s, I know that you know the same. However, something you may not know is that I would jump the moon at 3am for you, so driving down the road to help you take care of a sick friend is the least I can do.

There are few people that I can lose two hours sitting in a car with, venting to each other about our problems, frustrations, theories, and dreams. We spend far more time than is necessary analyzing our romantic interests and celebrity crushes, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world. I am convinced that we could have an in-depth conversation about a dog we saw on the sidewalk, and lose an hour. (That’s probably a bad example, but you get the point).

Few people have that depth, honesty, and genuinely kind heart that you do. You are a good soul, and the friend of a lifetime. I’m not religious, but I thank god every day for people like you, and the blessing that it is to have you in my life. You help me to believe that there is good in the world, and good people like you that I will find along the way. I know you don’t always realize your worth and often doubt yourself, and this pains me to see, because I just wish you could know how truly valuable you are to me. You friendship means more to me than I could ever describe, and there is nothing that could compare. Thank you for being my friend and so much more, through thick and thin, ups and downs, forward steps and backwards, I will always be here for you.