Okay, so before I get into it, I know we don’t like to call each other best friends simply because we’re more than that. We’re more to each other than those two words but, for convenience, I am going to call you my best friend for the rest of this article.

We’re cliché in the way that we have known each other since we were little kids. We grew up together, we played dress up and we ran throughout your neighborhood in the hot summer months. Even when we didn’t see each other for weeks on end, I still knew you were the girl I was closest to. You were always going to be there.

We saw each other grow up. Yes, we’re still doing that very thing because even though we’re eighteen, we’re definitely not done growing into the women we’re becoming and we're not even close to being adults. You saw me through my period of not brushing my hair, through my period of braces and being the literal lankiest human on this planet and even through my period of making stupid mistakes (that period is probably not over). You never criticized me when I thought gauchos were a good idea or when I thought capri leggings and Crocs were a trend that was just waiting to be discovered. Despite anything and everything I have ever done that would have made any other friend throw up their hands and admit defeat, you didn’t run and you didn’t leave me. Thank you for that.

I know we don’t call each other best friends because we know we’re more than that. I’ll explain to those who are confused. You and me are there for each other no matter how stupid we are or what we’ve done. You’re there for me when I need to cry, when I need to rant about meaningless subjects or when I think my life is too filled with confusion to function. I can not begin to express my gratitude for the consistency you have shown me. That’s why you’re more than my best friend.

You never fail to slap sense into me when I’m not thinking a situation all the way through. You know when to tell me to stop trying with that certain boy or when to stop complaining because my life is pretty great. You make me a better person each and every day and I don’t know many other people that can consistently do that. I know I make fun of you for thinking it, but you’re always right. Always. How do you do that? Must be because you’re a Capricorn.

We’ve seen each other at our worsts. Yes, this phrase is said by so many people when talking about their best friends, but it’s really true. We’ve said our biggest insecurities and we’ve shared our darkest moments. You’ve watched me freak out about something that I thought I wouldn’t get through and I remember calling you right after my first boyfriend broke my heart into what I thought were pieces that were permanently shattered when I was sixteen. You came to my house and we watched The Office and ate ice cream. I’m not sure who else would have done that for me. You hold me when I need to be held. You laugh with me when I’m trying to take my mind off of things. You sit and talk through my dark times like it’s the easiest thing in the world for you.

Next year, in a few months, actually, you will be miles and miles away from me. I’m not worried, though. This distance between us will only help us grow closer, if that’s even possible. I’ll FaceTime you when I inevitably fall in the cafeteria and you’ll tell me about all the different kinds of sushi you tried in Chicago that month. I know that one day, we’ll rent our first apartment together just like we’ve talked about. We’ll fight over who ate each other’s food and it will probably be my fault. I can’t wait until we’re roommates after college and for the day when we can look back and laugh at how we obsessed over meaningless things when we were teenagers or how embarrassing the movies we made on my desktop were when we were kids. Thank you for being the girl I can always count on and the friend I never doubt has my best interest at heart. I suppose I have to end this with something cheesy, so thanks for being the Jim Halpert to my Dwight Schrute.