To the friends that taught me the meaning of true friendship:

Before college, I was told that the people you meet within the first few weeks may not end up being the people you stick with for the remainder of the year. So naturally, when we first met I had absolutely no idea that our friendship would grow to the special bond that we have now. We started off talking about the usual stuff like: if we preferred cats or dogs, friends and boyfriends from home, and how insane it was that we were starting college. Fast forward to winter and then summer break, and there we were, sobbing because we didn't think we could survive what seemed like such a long time apart from one another.

This whole concept of having friends that genuinely care about what's happening in my life was extremely new to me. To be quite honest, most of the friends I had previously were too consumed with themselves or their boyfriends to even shoot me a text unless they needed something. So when I would get back from class and have someone always ask, "How was your class?" or if something seemed off ask, "Hey, what's going on? Are you okay?" and actually want to hear the truth was something I had to adjust to, for the better of course. But, I would have to say the celebration of the little things was and always will be my favorite new thing to look forward to. When I got a job interview or a grade that wasn't as awful as I anticipated, or even something as silly as someone complimenting my shoes I was able to share my little bursts of excitement with you. Then on top of that, being a part of a tight knit group and feeling your excitement made me all the more open to something so foreign to me.

There were nights we would stay up way later than we should have either laughing or crying about who knows what. The key to that is, it never felt like I was missing out on sleep, it felt like I was growing closer to you each and every time. Eventually those nights became something that happened all the time. As frequent as the conversations were, it never was boring and my eyes were always opened to something different about you. Those late night conversations are ones I will cherish forever. There are so many things that I love about our friendship, but the ability to trust you with some of my most personal thoughts and experiences and then knowing you trusted me with yours is something I am so very grateful for.

I have to say, befriending such empathetic human beings has been such a blessing. I really could go on forever about how much I appreciate every single thing you've shown me. You already know who you are (I hope). You know my track record with many of my expired friendships. With that being said, I would like to say thank you. You welcomed me with open arms and have become my rocks for almost a year now. You have inspired me to be the best possible version of myself as we take on some of the most important years of our lives. You have each helped me grow in different ways and served as role models to be a better friend and an overall better person. So for that, and so much more, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. XoXo

Sincerely,

An extremely thankful friend