High school was weird, right? It was huge and scary and just weird. Why did I update my Facebook statuses so much in 2009? Why didn't any of my friends tell me that side bangs weren't cool? Regardless, I don't think I could have gone through high school with anyone else. I cannot imagine my life without the last minute sleepovers or Starbucks trips every weekend. I was lucky to have been given a group of friends that supported me regardless of my questionable decisions, whether they be fashion related or life choices. Without these people, I don't think that I could have made it to where I am today.

I feel as though we all have a pretty good perspective on the aftermath of high school graduation since we've been out for so long now. I remember right before graduation, everyone told me that no matter what, your relationship with your "high school friends" will change drastically.

I still clearly remember driving home from my best friend's house at five o'clock in the morning after sending her off to Maryland to start college, tears streaming down my face. I felt as though a part of me was leaving with her. I felt like that was the end of our friendship and things would never be the same. I was partially right because things are extremely different now, but not in the way I thought they would be.

All of my home friends went separate ways. Some went to college close to home (only to drop out and re-enroll a year later), some started extremely far away (like Arkansas), and some went away and didn't come back. Before my college career began, I felt nervous and upset because I thought that my friendships were doomed. How could I possibly keep all of these relationships while making new ones? How could I balance school and work and meeting new people all on top of keeping my old friends around?

Looking back at it now, I had real reason to be upset and concerned. It is hard to maintain long distance friendships, it's hard to maintain any sort of friendship while in college, but somehow I did it. People were right. Things did change after graduation and yes, these changes were drastic, but without them I wouldn't be able to tell you now that every time I think about my future, my high school best friends are in it. They're there when I look forward and they're there when I look back. They have gone from high school best friends to forever friends, and I don't think we could have made it to where we are now without the struggle of college.

So how did this happen? How did we make it here?

It feels like just yesterday we were sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch or dancing the night away at prom. I'm not very good at being affectionate, but there are a few things that need to be said about my people at home.

Our friendships are not valuable because we text every day or because we have an unspoken rule where we like each other's Instagram photos the second they're posted. Our friendships are strong because of our past and our promise for a future. Our friendship is strong enough to withstand days without speaking and months without seeing each other face-to-face.

I understand that many people probably think I am naive for saying "forever," as if it's possible to promise another person a lifetime of friendship, loyalty and love. When I say "forever," I don't necessarily mean that we will be friends till the grave. Sure, I want these people as my bridesmaids and groomsmen at my wedding, and hopefully one of my kids will be lucky enough to have one of them as their godparent, but I am not silly enough to believe that we can promise each other to stay close for the rest of time.

When I say "forever," I am talking about what they have done for me. I am talking about the impact they have made on my life and the hand prints they have left on my heart. Of course there's a good chance that after college, we may move even further apart. Our lives will probably be busy and stressful, we probably won't see each other nearly as often. This doesn't change the fact that they have given me forever.

There will never be a time in my life where I look back at my high school or college career and not see them as a part of it. Our friendship has taught me how to love, how to trust, how to be a loyal and better person.

Thank you, to my wonderful friends, for giving me these years of friendship, for sticking with me for all these years, and changing me as a person, forever.