Going off to college was one of the best decisions I ever made. It came with some great things. I have made many of my best friends since freshman year started. But it also came with losses, specifically of some good high school friends. It’s simple to say you’ll never drift apart, but life gets in the way, and things change.

But I’m not here to dwell on the losses. This letter goes out to all the high school friends who stuck around.

I want to start by saying thank you. Thank you for not getting upset when I hang out with my college friends. Thanks for not getting annoyed when I talk about them 24/7, and for always giving them a chance. Thank you for understanding that leaving our hometown means growing and changing. I know I’m not the same person I was in high school, and I’m beyond grateful that I’ve changed.

Thanks for never blinking an eye when I call you out of nowhere and need to vent about things college friends won’t understand as well as you. Thank you for Facetiming me out of the blue to just talk. Thanks for knowing exactly what to say if I call you when I’m upset about a guy, despite not knowing the back story.

Thanks for being there to reminisce about high school memories and laugh at how different the high schoolers are now. Thank you for sending me pictures of all the people we graduated with who are already married, then proceeding to bask on how we’ll be single forever.

Thanks for always being down to go to the Mexican restaurant in town just like old days, and for being down to just drive around or get slushies at 2 am. Thank you for laughing with me about idiotic things, just like the old days.

Basically guys, thanks for never skipping a beat.