Dear Best Friend,

It's been over a year now, since you moved out of our childhood hometown and on to bigger and better things. Being home for the summer felt a little less like home without you just a few short miles from my house. But now the school year is back, and we're finally in our senior year of college, which in all honesty, is bittersweet. It's the mark of change. Eventually, the town will also be in my rearview mirror, and the distance between us will be farther than just two short hours.

With the coming close of our senior year, I know we will be going our separate ways. Life is pulling us in different directions, and although I know you will always be my best friend, I know that the years of effortless laughter and all the opportunities to just enjoy being around one another are coming to an abrupt end. I'm excited to see where life is going to take you. I've never met someone who is as personable, talented, and as driven as you are. You see what you want and you make it apart of your reality, which is a quality I admire. You're a success in the making, and you're going to make everyone in your life proud of you.

With all the crushing weight of the impending future on our shoulders, I'd like to thank you for always being my best friend. We might not get to talk as often as we used to, but that doesn't stop you from always being there when I need you. It's the little things, like when I need to call and yell about my day, because it was just that bad, or how you listen to me talk excessively about the guy I like. You never complain about how I complain about everything. You never criticize me for who I am, you accept me fully and completely. You make it okay for me to be myself all the time. I may only get to see you a couple times a year, but when we do see each other, it's nice to know nothing has changed. There's a sense of familiarity, an easiness that's only experienced in a friendship that's strong.

I need to thank you for always believing in me, even when I cannot believe in myself. You push me to go for the things that I want, you encourage me to try to go for things that I wouldn't try without you. You push me to be the best version of myself, which I'm thankful for. I wouldn't be half the person I am today without you. You're the type of person that people need and want in their life. When I need a shoulder to cry on, you're there for me. When I need someone to tell me to suck it up and get over it, you're honest. You don't tell me what I want to hear, you tell me what needs to be said.

I don't know where I'm going to be in the next ten years. Hell, I don't even have a solid five year plan. But I do know that no matter how much time goes bye, we're always going to be friends. You are my family, and when it comes down to it, family will always be there for you.