How do I define what a best friend is? I would say that a best friend is someone who you can depend on 24/7 and loves you like family. A best friend is your go-to person, the Christina Yang to your Meredith Grey, the Serena Van Der Woodsen to your Blair Waldorf, the Tim Riggins to your Jason Street; a best friend is the one you would risk your life for. Of course, I believe that everyone can have more than one best friend, but there is always your No. 1 best friend that you would die without, and that person to me is Anne Ross.

Now, a lot of best friends have grown up together and known each other since birth, but for me and Anne, we have only known each other for three years, even though it seems like an eternity. Anne and I met when I was fifteen and she was seventeen, and little did we know, we lived one neighborhood away from one another! The summer of 2013 was a great one for the both of us, because we instantly grew closer and closer, taking on new adventures along the way. If anyone has been around Anne and me` before, they know that we call each other "Ma" and to be honest, I don't remember why that started, but ever since then it is a rare occasion that I call her Anne.

One thing that I will always cherish about my friendship with Anne is her ability to not judge me, and always give me the best advice possible. With her being two years older than I am, she has been through a lot of the same things as I have and she always gives me the best advice and can sympathize with me. She always tells me how I am the exact same person as she was when she was eighteen and that she wants me to learn from her experiences and not make the same mistakes, or to follow in her footsteps. Most people know that I do have a sister, but with her being ten years older and at a different place in her life than I am, Anne is able to be the sister by my side. I think of her as family, and my parents and sister love her as if she is one of us.

Anne and I have been through a lot of the same hardships in life, and I believe that this is why we became such good friends at first `since we could relate to each other. Whenever one of us is down, we will pick each other back up, whenever we need a shoulder to cry on, we will be there as soon as possible, when we celebrate our accomplishments we are always there beside each other. Every adventure we find ourselves in, we always have fun, whether it be getting lost in the countryside trying to get ice cream or mini golfing, or tanning at the pool, I am guaranteed a good laugh and a great time since Anne is there with me. We like to joke that she is my mother bird and she took me under her wing, so wherever the wind blows us, we will fly together.

Fast forward to today, as I sit at my desk in my new room at Shippensburg University, writing about best friends, as for the first time, my best friend and I aren't together, we are 65 miles apart. I think about her every day, and miss sitting in our bedrooms talking about our days as we pig out on junk food. I miss being able to drive one minute down the road to Anne's house when I need to vent or cry or get out of my house to blow off steam. I miss seeing my best friend every other day, watching "Gossip Girl" or "Grey's Anatomy" together as we wish Chuck Bass and Derek Sheppard were real people. I have never been away this long from Anne, and I already find myself feeling lost without her by my side, but I know that she is with me at heart and wishes for me to do my best at college and continue to be the best me possible.

So heres to you Anne, I want to tell you just how much you mean to me, and to thank you for taking me under your wing three years ago. We have been through some pretty rough times, sad times, fights that tore us apart, but we always find our way back to each other, because that how true friendships work. You lift me up when I am down, and you make me feel special, and show me that I am important, and to never let anyone change me. And if this were my last day on earth, I want you to know that I love you so much, and thank you for always being my person; don't you ever let anyone or anything drag you down, or make you feel like less that you are because you deserve it all.

Love you forever and always ma.