We've gone to our last pep rallies, our homecomings, our football games, and our proms, and we've gotten ready together for every celebration and ceremony in between. We've laughed and cried, told old stories and made our own. But in a few months, we'll have hours, miles, and states between us. We'll only be seeing each other on our Instagrams and all-too-short trips back home. We still have a few grad parties, a few goodbyes, but what is there left to say now?

Let's start with "thank you."

Thank you for these past four years. Thank you for staying by my side, through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Thank you for the late night Ben & Jerry's runs and the lunchtime sushi dates. Thanks for the sleepovers and secrets, the inside jokes and the unforgettable adventures. Thank you for being my shoulder to cry on, and for convincing me not to buy that outfit. Thank you, quite simply, for being my best friends.

But I'm sorry.

I'm sorry for not taking your advice, for buying that outfit, for texting that guy. Even if I didn't want to admit it then, you were always right. I'm sorry for spilling a secret I shouldn't have or for ever talking behind your back. I'm sorry that we argued and I'm sorry that I didn't say "sorry" sooner. I'm sorry we lost touch. I'm sorry I didn't always tell you things honestly, and I'm sorry if I wasn't always the best friend I could have been to you.

Just know that I am proud of you.

Proud of where you've come from and proud of where you're headed. Proud that I helped you study for that final and watched you ace the class. Proud that I helped pick out your prom dress (which you looked gorgeous in) and proud that I got to see you flaunt it on the dance floor. Proud that I made it to every show, game, or event you had, and watched you get the applause I knew you deserved. Beyond proud that I've had the honor of calling you my best friend for the past few years, and proud that even if we grow apart, I'll be able to say "I knew her when...".

Our lives are changing in just a few months. The countdown has truly begun, and between all the dorm shopping trips, orientations, and class registrations coming up, finding time to spend together is going to be harder than ever. So in case I never get to say all this to your face, this letter will have to do. Whether we stay in touch for years or I don't bump into you again until I'm a mom with a minivan in the grocery store parking lot, know this...

You will always be my best friends.

Even if months and years pass us by, even if we never speak again, you have left your mark on the four most dramatic years of my life as the girls I loved most. You have been my most trusted confidants, my go-to Netflix binge partners, my adopted sisters, and the best friends I could have ever hoped for freshman year. And nothing- not finals week, time zones, or any new college friend or roomie -- will ever take your place in my life.

After four years of laughter, smiles, tears, and time spent together, all I've got to say is this: Thank you for the memories, and have fun making more! I wouldn't have made it through the spirit weeks, the parties, the crushes and the drama without you by my side.

Xoxo