First, I would like to start off this piece by thanking you.

You were my best friend of four and a half years -- from my awkward, rebellious years as a teenager to my self-discovering years as an adult. Our friendship began instantly upon our first meeting; you embraced me in the biggest, tightest hug you could muster as soon as you saw me, despite not even knowing my name yet.

Our first day as friends was filled with window shopping, spilling overpriced chocolate and spaghetti on the mall food court floor, and of course, disturbing the public in every store we entered. What can I say--when a Gemini and a Leo get together, it's always a party!

We enjoyed choir and theatre together, sleepovers, performances and group hangouts in abundance. Who could forget our adventures at Pleasure Pier and Galveston beach?! Those are memories I'll cherish forever.

Our bond remained inseparable as I moved away for college and you remained in our home town. As soon as I arrived home for visits, we were able to pick up right where we left off. That was a sign of a true friendship. An unbreakable bond.

Or so I thought.

My absence in your daily routine quickly turned me into a second choice; a last resort. You chose people who treated you terribly over the one who only had your best interests at heart. When I was selected for one-on-one time with you, something I looked forward to more than anything, you had nothing to say other than how horrible the people in your life were.

Did I no longer exist?

You would constantly ditch me for them and claim that, "you're my friend. You should understand. You know how it is."

What is beyond sad is that Ididunderstand, and I still do two years later, but that doesn't excuse how your actions affected me and my ability to rely on you.

When I would call you with a problem, all I wanted was someone who would listen. Someone who would care. However, you would belittle my experiences and tell me that church would solve all my problems.

I just wanted someone to care.

You used your personal beliefs against me. If I didn't go to church, specifically your church, I was a bad friend. What you failed to realize is that while I enjoyed attending your church on occasions, church just isn't for me. It never has been. I respected your beliefs, but the respect was not reciprocated.

You were there for me 150% when I began to have doubts about my identity, and for that I cannot thank you enough. I will always be grateful to you for that, but when you tell me that God's decision to create me would be a contradiction of His own beliefs, I should have known right then and there:

You can't love and accept me for who I am. How ignorant I must have been to not notice this.

I do not hate you. I cannot hate someone who gave me so many memories to love. I am not mad at you. You have made mistakes at my expense, and I am sure that I have done the same to you. Nobody's perfect, and that's okay.

People come and go more often than I would like, but I can't change The Universe's plan for me. Whether or not someone is meant to remain in my life for the long run or not is not up to me. Though I wish it was, it is not up to me.

You gave me four and a half years of love, kindness, joy and growth. A part of me will always love you, but it will have to be from afar. Though I would love a golden relationship like ours to remain forever, if there's one thing I learned from reading "The Outsiders," it's that "Nothing Gold Can Stay."

You are going to thrive in this world. I just know it. You're a Leo -- a natural leader, fighter and go-getter. I am confident you will get that job working with children. You will marry the right man and raise a beautiful family with him, like you used to tell me about over our Chipotle and Starbucks dates.

You will make it big in this world. Unfortunately, I will not be there to experience it with you.

Some people are meant to remain in our memories, not in our life. Whether or not our paths will cross again, only time will tell.

With all the love in the world,

-The one who wishes only the best for you.