Thank you for all the memories we have and will continue to make.

Memories are funny things. They shape people and many say they change over time. The memories I have of my best friend, though, never change. As I sit here and write, I think about you and how we would talk for hours about nothing and about everything. I never met someone who understood me so well. You're the person I tell everything to and have no fear of judgement. You really are a part of my life and a part of my family. You aren't just a friend to me but rather a sister.

Do you remember the first time we met? We were so young, in third grade. We didn't know each other but I knew I didn't like you. I just came back from a stint in catholic school and you had replaced me in my friend group. I was so jealous of you. You were everything I wanted to be. Then the next year rolled around and our feud continued. All up until one teacher made us use a hat to cast a member in our plays we performed for no reason. You were chosen. I was not a happy camper. In retrospect, I had no idea how that moment would change how I felt about you forever.

We were enemies and somehow, we now have a twelve year friendship. Funny how life works, right?

Twelve years is long. You were there for every awkward phase, just as I was there for yours. I was there when you were super short and I'd use you as an armrest. You were there when karma was a bitch and all of a sudden you were much taller than me and I was the armrest (and still am). You were my first kiss, because I "needed to practice." I realize now we discovered our sexualities together. You were there when I decided that maybe I was asexual because I wasn't attracted to the kiss. You were there when I realized that wasn't it at all, that I was attracted to men but was curious about women.

You were there when my stepdad would get drunk and beat my mom. You never told a soul. Thank you so much for being there and keeping all of my secrets. Even when there was that break where we didn't talk. You held my life in your hands and you never used the darkness that was my life against me.

Thank you for being there when I was being bullied. I know it had to be hard being friends with me because it tainted you by association and quickly made you a target. You never cared though and you ignored when boys would make fun you for being around me.

Thank you for having my back and being my partner in crime. As I write this, I think of all our memories. Do you remember how we used to have stuffed animal fights and my mom would get so mad at us? Or how you would try to get me to watch horror movies and I'd cuddle with a teddy bear and a blanket pulled up to my chin. We never got through the first five minutes before I wimped out. Do you remember Junjou Romantica? We learned to be tolerant together, to be open minded together. We watched an anime about love, neither of us caring it was about two guys falling in love. We related to the characters. They were humans, just like us, their sexuality wasn't a thought for us because we were watching for the storyline. Them being gay wasn't even a thought that crossed our mind. We rooted for them the whole way, just like we would anyone else.

We had friends come and go though our little twosome. We had so many people enter our circle and when they left, there was always us remaining strong in our friendship to one another. We never stopped being friends because we genuinely love each other. Those people were just blinks of time in our friendship.

We still talk today. Maybe not as much as we'd like to but we talk. We live our lives but always have each other in mind. You are my forever friend. My BFFaeaeaeae etc. We may be polar opposites but you complete me. If you hadn't been in my life I wouldn't be who I am today. If you hadn't been in my life, something would have been missing and I would've felt that emptiness everyday until I found you. Thankfully, I found you young. You filled a piece of my soul that was empty. Some people think soulmates are just for romantic reasons, but I think I found my soulmate: in the form of a best friend, in the form of a sister.

Here is to the rest of our lives as friends because I know you will be there until the very end. I love you, baggie. Thank you for being a part of my story. Thank you for always being at my side.