To my gay best friend,

I bet God smiled when he made you. You’ve touched my life and so many other lives around you. You may be extremely sassy and not always tell me that you love me back, but you’re also the most caring person I’ve met.

The story of how we became best friends is my favorite. You happened to pick up the phone when I was trying to call your best friend, ready to spill out my heart to him, and you talked sense into me. I thought I was in love but you, who didn’t even know me, told me I deserved better and helped me rediscover my worth. From that night on, you slowly helped me get over that guy, telling me who the good guys are, and have been there for me ever since emotionally and physically.

When I was scheduled to get my wisdom teeth out, you were the first person I asked to come with my mom and I (who by the way absolutely adores you and thinks of you as a son). I asked you mostly because I knew you’d videotape everything (which you did) but also because you were the person I trusted the most to take care of me.

While continuously laughing, you sat in my bed with me while I complained about the pain, showed me funny pictures, and let me use your phone to call the same guy to tell him he’s an inbred which, by the way, is my favorite joke between us.

You were also the only one out of all my friends to show up to my senior night of dance recital. You were there, you cried, you helped me carry my stuff, and you hugged me. Later you sent me a huge text, and we were both crying about how much we would miss each other the upcoming year as we reminisced about all the good times. You even thanked your best friend for leaving me, to where I’d eventually call him, and you and I would find each other.

When I was insecure about how I looked in my costumes, you reminded me throughout the day and my recital that I did look good. You constantly complimented me on my dancing. We both cried together when I danced to that one song that both reminded us of how hurt I got.

We honestly have the best adventures. From sneaking into an abandoned mental asylum, to stealing a shopping cart (R.I.P Sadie), to swimming across lakes we’re not supposed to, to evacuating hospitals, to even getting kicked out of Wal-Mart, to driving around rapping to the few rap songs we know, to getting lost, to driving fast after I dragged you to watch my boyfriend's wrestling tournament so you could look at the guys, my most fun is with you.

You’re the highlight of coming home. Even just sending funny videos and pictures of attractive guys back and forth make my day so much brighter.

You inspire me so much! You saw how dark the world can be, you said you didn’t care, and you came out of the closet. You did something so scary and life-changing that I would never have had the guts to do. That has inspired me to be more of who I truly am—to wear the clothes I want to wear, to post what I want, to date who I want, and to blare that sad indie music we both love but no one else does.

You tell me that you want to do something about the world and make it better, and I believe more than anything that you’re going to do that someday with your overwhelming courage. Your heart is one of the biggest I’ve come to meet, and it makes me want to do more and be more.

Our heart-to-hearts about how crazy society is getting and how judgmental people can be give me hope that there’s something we can do to fix it. You take every gruesome thing I see and hear and give me the perception that it’ll all be better one day.

Thank you for basically pretending to be my boyfriend. You held my hand, you cuddled with me, you held me while I cried, you sent me sweet encouraging messages when I needed you, you went on dates with me, you read my poems, you cooked for me, you drove me where I needed to go, you were there in the dark times, you pick out what clothes will make my body look good, and you never stop believing in me.

Thank you for being the best friend I’ve ever had. Thank you for coming into my life and giving me the confidence to be myself. Thank you giving me the best of memories and biggest of laughs.

Love,

Your forever grateful friend.