Growing up and going through elementary, middle, and high school you meet a lot of people. And some of those people become your nearest, dearest friends. It is easy to think growing up that nothing will ever tear you apart, that you’ll stay friends forever, and that nothing could ever change. Upon graduation from high school, I started to realize that the friends you’ve made along the way may not always be around. Entering college, at different schools and at different ends of the state from some of the people who I called my best friends, I realized that it was going to take a lot of work to keep them in my life. And because of that, I haven't kept all of my friends along the way.

But, now a month into my senior year of college, I’m happy to say that I have kept the ones who matter most close to me even though we only see each other a few times a year. So here is a big, loving THANK YOU to the people who have been by my side through the awkward middle school stage all the way through my crazy college years.

1. Thank you for reminding me that not everyone from my hometown completely sucks...

Being from where we are from, it is so easy to leave that town and to be so relieved when I cross the county border and travel 300 miles away to my college town. Sometimes, all I can remember about my hometown are all of the bad things, but having friends like you make me remember that not everything or everyone from that little, old, almost-washed-up town are bad, because you guys rock.

2. ...and for making fun of all the people from my hometown who do completely suck.

Aside from us, there are a lot of people from our hometown who we do not want to see nor hear nor hang out with. Luckily, we have each other, and we can blow up the group chat with the latest gossip about the ratchet folks from our town who make us feel a lot better about ourselves.

3. Thank you for struggling to survive college as much as I am.

Even when you’re a college, a city, and a state away, you guys always seem to have a bad week at school at the same time that I do. And we may be in different majors or classes, but we can all relate with the amount of school work bringing us down and we can always feel helpless and overwhelmed together…even when we are miles apart.

4. Thank you for making my trips home worth it.

There is NEVER a dull moment when we get together at home, and whether we are drunk on wine or laughter, we are always having fun.

5. Thank you for being there for me even if we haven’t talked in a while.

It isn’t always easy to stay in touch when we all have different schedules and different things going on, but at the end of the day, if I need you or you need me, I know that we will always be there for each other. With friends like you, it is so easy to just pick up right where we have left off, no matter how long it has been.

So thank you for being the ones who have stuck around, these 21 years of life have been a whole lot better with you by my side.