Dear Best Friend;

I can’t really pinpoint the moment we became friends; in most of my elementary school and middle school memories, you just happen to be there. I do remember the moment you became my best friend; we were sitting in the grass at recess, talking about the latest episode of "The Saddle Club," and I looked up to see my hardcore third-grade crush and I told you I was in love. You looked at me with this mysterious smile and said that at lunch we would have to practice our cartwheels a little harder to get his attention. We both sucked at cartwheels and spent the next three days practicing until we got distracted with something else.

Then there was the time my mom got a new car, it was a pretty big deal to us, being in third grade and all. You were so excited that you shared your Cosmo brownie with me at lunch, only to realize that my mom didn’t let me eat sugar that had a shelf life longer than three days, so you snuck an extra Cosmo brownie to bring me every day for the rest of the year. Not all of our memories are good and filled with laughs; there were times when you made me angry, when I hated you, and then there were times when we would cry together, be there for each other in the hardest times. There were moments that felt like you and I were against the world. Oftentimes we were; we didn’t play soccer at recess or practice our cheers, we pretended we were somewhere else, inside our favorite TV show, in our own little world. Then, on rainy days, we would sit in the corner and draw the house we would one day share together; remember that?

Eventually, like with most friendships, we began to grow apart; we went to different high schools, had different friends, different interests. For about two years, we didn’t really talk, and it was like you never were a huge part of my life. I never told you, but that was so hard for me; you had always been there for me, when no one else was. You understood me, like why I can’t eat red candy unless it's gobstoppers because they aren’t really red, or why I will forever be in love with Logan Hundsburger. It was hard not to have you there when it felt like no one else understood me or what I was going through.

Like most storms, those days ended, and somehow we rekindled our friendship. For that, I am ever grateful. I don’t know what I would do without my best friend who gets things that no one else gets. The girl who understands my stories or can make me laugh by just looking at me. You are an amazing girl and amazing person. I have always been jealous of how kind and sincere you are to everyone. Thank you for always being there for me when I need someone to talk to, for growing up with me, for yelling at the mean girls for laughing at me, for putting up with me for the past 11 years. I would be lost without!

Love;

Your childhood best friend